Dogs, Foxes, and Mates
by Living Paradox
Summary: This follows the storyline of TCL. Naruto and Kiba are together. There's a new clan. What all will this year hold for them? Rated for eventual yaoi. NaruKiba and a few pairings of my own creation.
1. Prologue: Zombies

**Author Notes: Here we are, Tragic Canine Lovers Sequel. This story needs a prologue, because this is set after some major events that need to take place which will be explained in this chapter.**

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**Naruto and Kiba:** It had been twenty days since that night, Naruto's birthday. Today was October 30th, and two esteemed guests would be arriving from the Land of Earth today. Following the bond Naruto and Kiba had made, the Inuzuka Clan was in an uproar. Tsume was dealing with the stories of freaked out dogs and people having "visions" for days. Her sons had awoken the morning after in each other's arms and in the strangest state Tsume had ever seen. The two smiled lightly and stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. What had relieved the woman though was that they no longer appeared as "half-demons." Naruto and Kiba had crossed into another realm of love the night before. Kurumaru had told Tsume to not be afraid and to not be rash. Their appearances were only temporary, and originally, they were just used to turn each other on. "Acceptance," that was what Kurumaru called it.

In truth, her sons accepted each other in every way, but Tsume couldn't rationalize what her dog was saying. Then to top it off, he goes and becomes the sole mate of Runkai, the dog he mentioned before he passed out on her floor. It was the first time in history when Kurumaru had attention for only one. He and Runkai merely looked at each other once before becoming romantic with each other, rubbing each other in circles much like cats against human legs. The black wolf for once wasn't just horny from the get-go; he studied his partner, romanced her, and gained her affection. After five days of lovey-dovey dogs, Kurumaru brought her home to Tsume's house and finally claimed her as his. They had coupled lovingly, slowly; it stunned the Inuzuka mistress that her beast of a pet could actually behave. He didn't leave her after completion; Kurumaru remained at her side as a behaved lover.

In the days proceeding the "incident" as it were, many dogs in the clan established a permanent relationship with another, and the remaining were frightened. Some were reported to be crying at night over "distant mates." These dogs were scared, because their mates…in their visions that night, were foxes. Some were ashamed, others were lovesick, and some cried throughout the nights over not being able to see their partners.

No one in the clan or those who lived near the estates managed to get any sleep. Tsume had become a raging machine, yelling more often than usual, irrationally blaming her sons for everything (she of course apologized and said they were not to blame), and leaving several members in the clan wounded. After twenty restless nights, Tsume, Hana, Naruto, Kiba, and a few others walked like zombies off the estate to the Hokage Mansion.

"Anyone get any sleep?" the Inuzuka mistress asked. Everyone just moaned in answer. "Good, that means no one is feeling better than I am. Otherwise, I'd have to waist energy and hit someone." They had become a bit of an attraction for the village, sickly looking "mutt-men," that's what they were called. And Naruto was already an eyesore. The trip took twice as long as usual due to their slow pace, but they were greeted with a slightly humorous, hugely dangerous picture when they made it to Tsunade's office. The woman had red sacks under her eyes, and she looked even worse than the seven ambassadors of the Inuzuka Clan. They smiled lightly.

"You laugh and I'll tear off your family jewels Naruto," the Hokage spoke quietly and dangerously. All seven of them broke into tired laughter, so she couldn't follow up on her threat. "Shut up!" she yelled. "Okay, it's not like I'm blaming you two, but your…whatever you want to call it, caused every dog in this village to go nuts. No one in this village has gotten sleep except for the Aburames and people living far enough away from the commotion. Now, the reason you are here today, is to welcome honored guests of the Earth Country. Several leaders of a certain clan are coming. The clan is named Kitsungen Clan, meaning fox-man. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"When will they be getting here?" Tsume asked.

"They should be here by noon," the Hokage replied. "Tsume, I know you're tired as Hell, but please give them a warm welcome…and behave. The last thing we need is to disrespect the Village Hidden in the Stones. I have no idea how this will move, but these people are very interested in meeting their 'sister clan.'"

"I understand," the Inuzuka mistress spoke before looking at the clock on the wall. "We've got twenty minutes. Might as well just head to the gate now. Come on." The seven and a couple dogs followed her. Kurumaru and Runkai came along, and Shen being the rational English-speaking one came too.

Naruto gave Kiba a tiny kiss before they left the safety of the office. "Maybe we'll make some friends with kids our age," the blond mused. He still wore his ring, and many in the village questioned where it came from. Countless were suspicious and had every intention of figuring out who his fiancé was. They were going to find out how he "hypnotized" the poor girl into loving him, a monster and abomination against humankind. It was fruitless though, because it would take people forever to realize he and Kiba were together; they hid it so well. Naruto had also not been back to his apartment in eons. Kami only knew what had happened to it in that time.

Villagers kept staring at the living dead as they walked up to the gate. A couple threw garbage or pebbles, but Tsume was too unconscious to care. The villagers knew that if she was even a hair more energetic, their lives would be forfeit about now. When the seven came upon the view of the massive gate, their eyes focused on five red-orange forms patiently sitting down as seven individuals spoke to the gate guards. "Are those foxes?" Tsume asked curiously as she squinted her eyes. "They're freaking huge."

"Look, we have an audience with several members of the…Inuzuka Clan today. It's important," the apparent leading woman spoke. "We're exhausted, and our partners here need some water."

"The Hokage hasn't sent us any information on you guys, so I have to ask you to wait while the other guy confirms it," the man spoke. **Could someone send me these guys names? I'm blanking, and they aren't listed in character lists like Wikipedia and Google. **The woman looked pissed. "Look, if things check out, then you can move on, but I do have orders to keep out intruders." The woman grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"You listen to me," she spoke angrily. "If this is how we're gonna get treated in this village, then you can say bye-bye to a peaceful relationship. We just came from over three-hundred miles away, and there is no way in Hell we're gonna take this sitting down." The woman's fox, the largest and with the darkest fur, cocked his head around, and the scent of dogs hit his nose.

"Sukima-Sama," he spoke in a calm and partially deep voice, "I believe the people you are looking for are over there." His master stopped throttling the Chuunin guard long enough to turn to her fox. She followed his gaze to the seven standing a bit away. Tsume and she locked eyes. It was a bit of a tense moment. "Are you of the Inuzuka Clan?" the giant fox asked. He stood four feet tall, on even ground with Kurumaru.

"Yes, the Kitsungen I presume?" Tsume asked with every ounce of politeness she could muster. There was silence once more. The woman, Sukima, put the Chuunin down in his chair, and she walked up to Tsume, her loyal fox right beside her.

"What's it to you?" she asked in fake seriousness. Their steely gazes melted after a tense six seconds, and their hands locked together much like a guy to guy handshake, you know, the stupid one with the elbows bent and the hands clasped together like a double fist? The two mistresses smiled at one another. "It's good to finally meet you, but you guys look like crap. What happened?" she asked humorously.

"My two sons…'mated,' and our dogs have been howling ever since," Tsume replied. "Technically, Blondie here is my stepson, but you get it. No one in this village has gotten sleep, so yes, you will be seeing zombies. Anyway, ya (insert name here), they're with us."

"Anything you say Mrs. Inuzuka," the man spoke, cowering in fear. "Go on ahead."

The staring was no longer just staring as the group went back through the streets. "Don't meet their gaze," Tsume spoke just loud enough for everyone in the group to hear. Sukima began to wonder just what kind of society Konoha was. It certainly didn't seem hospitable. "I will explain everything once we get back to the estate, but not here." The trek went slowly, and Naruto couldn't help but stare at the majestic foxes. The villagers couldn't help but be afraid and hate them.

"You keep them very well groomed," Naruto commented. Sukima didn't answer him, and it kinda stung. Once they made it onto the estate grounds though, she replied.

"Thank you, and your dogs all look like they could take down horses, very well fit," she spoke. "Now, do you guys get stared at like that every day?"

"No," Tsume replied. "Since we look like the living dead though, we've been stared at the last few days, but what we just encountered was fear and hatred, not humorous or curious stares."

"Why would people hate you?" Sukima asked. Her relatives were apparently highly disciplined and quiet. "I'm beginning to not like this village, but you are certainly livening things up."

"It's not that they necessarily hate us or you," the Inuzuka mistress began as she sat down on the soft yellow-green grass. "They hate Naruto here, or specifically, what's inside him." Everyone of the Kitsungen was curious. "The reason they stared at your foxes hatefully and in fear…is because the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked this village many years ago." They all gasped. "My stepson here has the beast sealed in him, and the villagers hate him for it. They don't think he can be controlled unless he is weak and hurt, so I adopted him upon the request of my son and the Hokage. As you can see though, Naruto is your average teenage boy, except for the fact that he's practically one of us."

"What do you mean by that?" Sukima asked. She and everyone else sat down. "What makes him so similar to the people of your clan?"

"Well, now comes the part where we get to know each other," Tsume began quietly and cautiously. "Apart from being part canine because of the fox demon, Naruto, like all the males of my clan, has…there is just no nice way to put this. I told you my sons mated remember?" Sukima nodded. "Well, I guess I've gotta ask: what are your clan's views?" There was a touch of silence before the woman answered.

"Yes, it is a very difficult subject to break the ice on," Sukima replied. "I'm guessing all males have no sexual preference?" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ya," Tsume told her. "It's pretty common to have 'gay' couples, but most of them"

"Are temporary until one learns to love a woman properly," Sukima recited. "I see our clans are very similar. And the village doesn't hate you for this?"

"No, we have lived here for so long, and most of the pairs are within the family, so no one pays it any mind," Tsume replied. "I'm guessing the same is true of your clan?"

"Yes, and I'm guessing you guys go into heat around April until the end of June?"

"It's amazing that there is another clan exactly like us," Tsume told her. She stared at the fox to the woman's right. "What is his name? He is very beautiful."

"This here is my oldest friend and partner, Ken," Sukima told her. "I see your dogs are quite into each other." Tsume turned to see Kurumaru and Runkai cuddling, snow white against black and grey. "He is very strong."

"And most of the time, an ass," Tsume replied. "Kurumaru here nearly killed Naruto when I adopted him into the family. He says that he and the Kyuubi are fusing, but after Naruto healed him and submitted AFTER crushing him in battle, he decided not to mark Naruto. Kurumaru let him and Kiba be together because he found that Naruto doesn't care about family position and dominance and such." As if to prove a point, her sons kissed each other lovingly.

"So you two were the ones?" Sukima more spoke than asked. "I see it. You better not let Blondie go, 'cause sure as the sun rises, he loves you. As per your dogs howling at night, do we have reasons?" This was going to get awkward.

"Um," the Inuzuka mistress began. "I'm not sure how you will take this, but apart from relationships breaking apart and new ones forming so quickly, the dogs left over…say that their mates…are foxes." There was a long silence.

"October tenth, at about nine-forty, our foxes all began flailing, howling, proclaiming that two had become one," Sukima spoke. "Then, we encountered similar happenings. Some of our foxes are ashamed of themselves, because their mates are apparently part of your clan. So, the feeling is mutual. It was no small happening, your two sons pulling that off. Being in their presence is uplifting, and I kinda see it, the fox and the dog. Your name is Naruto right?" The boy looked up and nodded with a small smile.

"Ya, it's nice to meet you," he replied courteously. "Why are you all so quiet? You look like statues." Tsume looked at him in reprimand, but Sukima put her hand out in telling her to be calm.

"The boy has a point," she spoke. "Renji, Ichigo, why don't you two go with the two boys? Take a look around the estate. Going by the smell, there are a lot of cool places you can go to." A blond and redhead, both maybe at sixteen, stood up along with their foxes. They smiled as the two Inuzuka boys rose.

"Doesn't every member of your clan have a dog?" the redhead asked toward the two. Akamaru lazily got up and stuck his head out of Kiba's sweatshirt. "What about you Naruto?" The boy looked away a bit sadly.

"He wasn't born into the clan, so he didn't get one," Kiba spoke. "You have to form bonds at a young age, otherwise, the two can't be in synchronization when they fight."

"He doesn't need a dog," Ichigo spoke up with a smile. "We actually have a carrying fox back home, and I'm sure you'd enjoy having a little kit to take care of Naruto. They grow quickly, and I'm sure that you'd really like having company when you're away from your boyfriend. Oh, just so you know, Renji and I are together." Kiba and Naruto both smiled lightly. Another dog howl resounded in the air. "Wow, he sounds really depressed."

"I also can't speak canine," Naruto told the two. "Our house doesn't have any dogs who are alone, but we might come across Raija getting it on. Would you guys like a drink?"

"We're parched," Ichigo's fox spoke. "I'm Kon, and this is Nova. We're also together, the only double pair in our clan. That means both masters and partners are together. May we have some water when we get to your house?"

"Sure," Naruto spoke before petting him behind the ear. Kon twisted his head lightly and mewled. Nova came by, and Naruto gave him the same treatment, but only a small rumble came from his chest.

"He doesn't talk much, the strong, silent type," Kon spoke up as they walked on. Kiba spotted Renji kissing Ichigo, and he was glad that none of it was a lie. They entered to find Raija missing, but they could all smell that he was out back getting his groove on. Naruto got out a couple of bowls and filled them with water for the foxes.

"So, do all foxes learn to speak like humans in your clan?" Kiba asked.

"Ya, it helps when we're dealing with other people," Renji spoke before sitting down in a chair. "God you two look terrible," he commented humorously. Ichigo thwacked him on the back of the head.

"Watch your mouth, or your ass and I are gonna have a talk tonight," he warned. "We were lucky enough to get away from the grounds; our foxes aren't in much better shape. I can only guess as to how many your sister has kicked by now." Renji cringed. His sister, Rukia, was not someone you messed with or annoyed. She was in line to inherit the clan, her skills far outshining Renji's. "I'd ask to spar, but that wouldn't be fair. What do you guys have around for fun?"

"Hey, Ichi, they've got Super Smash Bros.!" Renji called. Kiba and Naruto smiled lightly. "Come on, how 'bout a tourney?" The two Inuzuka brothers were still awake enough that they could kick their rivals' butts. After six matches though, the two lost consciousness, falling asleep on the floor. "Jeez, talk about being deprived of sleep."

"Come on," his partner spoke. "We should probably get them into their bed. Just smell for their room." Ichigo picked up Naruto, and Renji carried Kiba up to their room. "I thought they were together," he commented. The room smelled only faintly of sex.

"They haven't had much chance since the dogs went nuts," Tsume spoke from her doorway, scaring the Hell out of the two fox-boys and their partners.

"How did she get past our hearing?" Kon asked hysterically. Even Nova was a bit unnerved by her skill.

"Years of experience spying on my kids," The Inuzuka mistress replied. Sukima came in the door downstairs. "Anyway, just put them in the bed. Make no mistake; they'll get right back into it once they have their energy back. You guys can go to the dojo, but try to stay on the grounds until Sukima and I discuss arrangements with Tsunade. Definitely don't get on her nerves. She's the only woman in this whole world who scares me, and that's saying a lot."

"I'm leaving the rest in your care too Renji," Sukima called up a bit in warning. "Our hosts are being quite generous, so don't be your usual pain in the ass self okay?"

"Mom, have a little faith in me, yeesh," Renji replied a bit in annoyance. Tsume clouted him, and Sukima thanked her after getting over her laughing.

"My son Kiba, was the same way before…and a bit after Naruto became his boyfriend," the Inuzuka mistress told her. "He would defy me left and right, get angry at me for 'invading his privacy,' and whine when I made him go shopping with me."

"Wow, you and my mom are gonna get along great," Renji commented. Sukima gave Tsume a look.

"Kurumaru, sick 'em," the woman called up. Renji heard the running of heavy paws and bolted out a window. "Don't hurt him too bad," she added as the black wolf flew out the window after him. Ichigo closed the boys' door and came downstairs. "Well, we're off, Hana included. We have soda in the fridge, some leftover pizza, soup. If you get hungry, make yourself at home." The two women left, and the rest of the Kitsungen entered the house.

"Don't wreck the place, but feel free to play Super Smash Bros., get a BITE, to eat, read, whatever," the blond boy told them. He went on the porch and scratched the back of Kon's ears. A few members of the Inuzuka Clan came by, and eventually there was a great exchange of names, livings, and so on. "Wow Renji, he kicked your ass big-time."

"Shut it Ichigo," the redhead spoke as he walked up. Kon went to his side quietly. "That bastard cheats." Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "He kicked me where the sun don't shine, and then he flung me into a tree."

"Sorry, but you can go rest on the couch," Ichigo told him.

"Oh, Kuru, ya, he's a freaking jackass," Han spoke up. "I'm Han, and my dog, Runkai, is his mate. It's kinda funny looking at foxes like this; they're all so big compared to wild ones."

"Well, most dogs aren't as big as yours get either," Ichigo spoke. "As per Kurumaru, he and Ken are probably an even match going by their scents. I wonder if our families will really join together. If so, I bet that wolf would bring up a dominance issue."

"He did with Naruto," Han commented. "And that wasn't even rational. I'm sure that our two leaders can figure out a way to keep control of the chain of command. I don't even see why that is, why we have that sort of thing."

"Well, I see you two must have hit it off nicely," Tsunade said with a bit of brightness in her voice. She had had coffee obviously. "What's on your minds?"

"I think our clans would benefit from being near each other, but we have an unforeseen problem," Tsume spoke up.

"The issue of the foxes, I know," the Hokage replied. "I can't banish Naruto, I can't exile you, and I can't force the Kitsungen Clan to all move here. We are at an impasse. Sukima, you have obviously felt the harsh stares of the people. That is without a doubt going to be a problem. I do have to ask: what is your opinion concerning our jinchuuriki?"

Sukima sat silently for a while. "He is strong, kind, protecting, and searching for friendship. I see no problem with him, and no reason why he should deserve the harsh treatment of this village. It is easy to sense, the pain in his emotions. Naruto is fourteen years old, and he is the nicest guy I've ever met. Hasn't the village realized he doesn't pose a threat?"

"They think he's trying to protect himself through you," the Hokage replied. "There is an annual festival to celebrate the Kyuubi's defeat, and Naruto is always kept as far away as possible for protection. That day is his birthday." Sukima was now internally furious. "Because your family has foxes like the Inuzukas have dogs, the villagers now think Naruto is bringing them a curse. In other words, your safety, and his too, are in danger. I'm trying to find a way to get the village to stop this nonsense, but the danger with that is that I'd probably be replaced as Hokage, in favor of someone, more agreeable with the common beliefs of the villagers. To be honest, I hate being in this position, stuck between helping my friends and keeping the village in a state of relative peace."

"All of this, just because he's a jinchuuriki?" the woman spoke disbelievingly. "There are two others in our village, and both revered as heroes. Mind you, the Bijuu never attacked our village, but they are still demon holders as Naruto is. Why do you think they find him to be such a danger if he has never attacked?"

"The villagers have apparently beaten him on a number of occasions to keep him in line, which of course is unnecessary," Tsunade replied. "That gives them the belief that he will behave, if they can keep him afraid, keep him weak. Naruto isn't weak, but he has been afraid his entire life, lonely his entire life. I can only imagine the horrors if he and Kiba were found out. His chances for having a relationship with a girl in our village are very slim, and he found a wonderful partner in Kiba. If the villagers ripped that from him, he'd be permanently crushed."

"Great, the one pair that pulled off a complete mating might be found illegitimate and killed, just because of…" Sukima began. "It would appear this visit has done nothing for either side."

"That isn't quite true," Tsunade told her. "The knowledge exists of a second clan, and now couples are being formed which have every reason for the people involved to be together. We can do a few different things: convince the village that Naruto is no threat, which harbors a lot of risk, bring your entire clan here, or send the Inuzukas to live in the Land of Earth. Losing the Shinobi in either village would create an imbalance, but alliance can fix that. If you have any other ideas, I'm willing to hear them."

It was a catastrophe back at Tsume's house. Two people had snuck in upstairs, although they had been heard. Naruto was abducted, and Ichigo had seen the two men fly out the window with him. "Guys, it's Naruto, they're taking him," he yelled. Members of both clans shot out the door. "Don't lose track!" Kurumaru sprinted out ahead of them all, but the two men had a decent lead. They all flew into the woods after them, not losing sight of their targets.

"Let's just kill 'im here," the younger one suggested.

"It's tempting," his partner replied. They came upon a small clearing, plenty of villagers gathered. "One demon boy wrapped up to go." Naruto was too exhausted to wake up, but his allies weren't far behind. The two men dropped the blond, and he woke up from the impact, moaning and rubbing his eyes.

"Wha?" he asked. Punch! He took one right in the side of the face, and Naruto collapsed. The villagers began circling him, and he woke up. "No, get away from me," he spoke, trying to get up before his foot was grabbed and someone stomped on the back of his chest. It became a match, Naruto trying to run and escape the forty or so who surrounded him and were currently beating him.

"_**That's it!"**_ Kyuubi roared. _**"They crossed the line."**_ The jinchuuriki had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, even as he focused on keeping the grips off of him. His head burned with pulling hair.

"Get offa me damn it," he yelled. "I…said…get…_**OOOOOOOOFF!**_" A wave of chakra sent his attackers flying a ways, most of them just winded. Naruto panted and held his left arm, sliced open from a woman clawing him. His eyes were red, and his t-shirt had been relatively torn apart, the one with the Leaf symbol emblazoned upon it.

His friends had come, but they were staying back to watch, Ichigo and Renji both feeling the power circling the boy. "That's Naruto?" the blond asked. Kon was shivering in fear, and Nova appeared to be intimidated. All the foxes and dogs felt it.

"_**When will you Konoha fools learn?!"**_ Kyuubi spoke warningly. _**"Who is the one attacking every time? Who is the one getting hurt every time? You know nothing. If you lay another unjust finger on my vessel, there will finally BE consequences. Name one time where Naruto actually aggravated and earned such treatment."**_ There was silence, possibly from fear, but the fox didn't care. _**"Never in my lifetime have I met such monsters. You don't even use Naruto as a cheap, disposable weapon. No, he isn't even good enough for THAT. You abuse him, hurt him, torture him. No more!"**_ Kyuubi roared. _**"It's time you actually looked past the incident fourteen years ago. The rest of the world moves forward, but you, you hold this grudge as a means of entertainment, and a scapegoat. What you are doing is WRONG! Leave Naruto in peace, and maybe you'll learn he has done nothing to you."**_ A man had snuck up behind him and punched the blond into the dirt. The rest were on him in an instant, but they were blown away once more. _**"So be it, you chose DEATH!"**_ Kyuubi roared. He punched forward, and invisible energy blew away his forward opponents, and most of the trees and dirt. Kyuubi roared, relishing in the ability to fight again.

The fox sprang at the men, clawing a few, punching others, sending the few ninja flying with chakra shockwaves. _**"Do you see it? Do you see what Naruto, what I can truly do to you if we so wish? You feared our power, so you beat him to make sure he never used it…great plan, really,"**_ he spoke sarcastically. _**"Such is the folly of humans. I haven't killed anyone yet, but who here wishes to be the first?"**_ Ichigo jumped down and held his arms out, blocking Kyuubi from the others. _**"You, you are both wise AND foolish," **_the fox spoke calmly. _**"Do you truly think you can stand before me? As Naruto's friend, I could not kill you and leave with a clean conscience, but I'm more than capable of roughing you up."**_

"Stop Naruto!" A voice called out. Tsunade, Tsume, and Sukima came down from the treetops, surrounding Kyuubi. "You're surrounded."

"_**You're outgunned,"**_ the fox replied calmly.

"I will deal with this," Tsunade told the fox. "Do you idiots finally get it?" she yelled out to everyone. "It took fourteen years, and he finally retaliates. Who's really the monster? Naruto has been minding his own business, leaving you to your festival, your happy lives, while he suffered. What can you blame him for? Truly?"

"He's just bringing more of his filth to our village!" a man yelled back. He hadn't been hit yet except for the first chakra wave, but Kurumaru pinned him.

"I'd stay down if I were you," the black wolf warned.

"You tolerated the Inuzuka Clan for centuries, but a similar one comes along, the only difference being foxes, and you blame him?" the Hokage asked. "You blame him and curse him when nothing bad has happened? They have not caused trouble, and you had to poke the boy with sticks for years before he finally fought back. Way to go. I'm ending this now. The next time I hear of anyone looking at Naruto wrong, harassing him, or harassing any of his friends, it's a legal offense." There was immediate resistance. "ENOUGH!" the Hokage yelled. "Just let it go. Does that satisfy you, Kyuubi?" The fox smiled, and his aura disappeared before the blue eyes closed and Naruto fainted forward, into Ichigo's arms. "Get him back to the house. As per the rest of you, go home and lick your wounds, because I ain't healing you." There was grumbling from them all, but the three women were more than intimidating. "Get going!" she roared, finally sending the cowards running. Tsunade turned along with the other two, to see the blond crying in his sleep as Ichigo put him on his back. "I should have protected him better."

"You couldn't have known," Tsume replied.

"Yes, I should have from the moment Sukima and the others were looked at in hate," the Hokage answered.

"We obviously are not welcome here," Sukima spoke.

"No, you will stay on the Inuzuka estate tonight until you all are rested," Tsume began. "I would have it no other way. Sukima, you may stay in the guest room at my house, and all the other houses have available rooms for your family members. I will go make arrangements, but stay together at my house until I'm done. We don't need another incident happening to any of you." The Inuzuka mistress walked off with tears in her eyes, and the rest went back to her house. Kiba was still sleeping, and he luckily didn't wake when his mate was placed next to him.

"He was holding back," Ichigo commented. Renji was curious. "I could feel it. Whatever he has sealed in him, could have killed all of them easily." He stared at the sleeping Naruto. Somehow, his arms wrapped around Kiba, and he brought his mate's body to him.

"They remind me of you two," Sukima spoke, her black hair put down. "I'm getting everyone's opinion; do you want to stay here, move to this village?" Her son and Ichigo were silent for a while. "I guess that's a no." She began walking away before the blond boy spoke up.

"Tsunade said she would deal with things, and I believe her," the boy spoke. "It might take a couple years, but something tells me this is where we belong. Hey, have you seen Neko around? Suzaku was looking for him."

"Have you smelled the air lately?" the woman asked. Ichigo smiled after sniffing deeply. The "pets" of both clans were exploring each other, apparently bonding even though their human counterparts were not yet. "If we were to move here, there would be a lot of ridicule to get past, and I don't know exactly how safe everyone would be. If we didn't come here though, something worries me. All of us were given visions of our true mates, the people our souls know should be with us, and it's thanks to those two. If we refuse the call we heard, I don't know what the consequences could be."

That night, Naruto and Kiba stayed in their room, the brunette holding his lover close as he explained the day's events. Only after he had tried everything to comfort Naruto had Kiba managed to get him to sleep.

"See, there's something between them. It's like nothing else," Tsume explained to her guest. Sukima nodded. "And now, we've got it all over the place. Please, I know how the people have treated you, but please consider it, moving here. The village will change. Tsunade won't let this continue any more, despite the council's resistance."

"I will talk it through with the leaders of my clan, but keep in touch Tsume-Sama," the woman spoke before going to the guest bedroom. It was a full day, and it was finally over.

**Review Please. Yes, it isn't yaoi, but I'll get to it. There is a reason this is a prologue.**


	2. Nostalgia Awakened

**Author Notes: I'm sorry for not coming back sooner my faithful readers. The fame of Hunterdon Central only grows with the Jenny Haver Review performance. Five schools compete in a fine arts show for scholarship rights, and I was a lead act. I have had multiple projects, and I've got a research paper in the works too. Please let my apology be enough. I love all of you. Anyway, now we are moving further down the timeline. The Kitsungen have begun arriving in Konoha, people have been arrested for attempts on Naruto's life, and mating season will be rolling around soon.**

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**Naruto:** The blond's eyes cracked open that cool morning in March to find his faithful mate resting beside him. He smiled and hugged Kiba close to his body. Strange as it had been at first, their mating had brought about deeper connections, older instincts, more powerful ones. Naruto growled lightly in his throat, and he began lightly nibbling on the brunette's ear. Kiba mewled in his sleep, eventually Naruto's name being pronounced. He arched back a bit, and Kiba woke up to a wonderful loving sensation.

"Morning Naruto," he spoke with a smile. The teething ended, and the blond brought his face back in front of his brother's. He was smiling as he usually did in the mornings, and his arms were wrapped around Kiba's neck at the elbow, their faces very close together. It was obvious what the blond wanted, and so the naked brunette began kissing him, softly, lovingly, warming Naruto's body. Of course they progressed, hands stroking hair, tongues getting involved in the kiss, but not out of hormones. The only arousal in the air was what was left over from the previous night. Naruto massaged the clan markings of his stepbrother as he smiled at and admired his lover, and Kiba stroked his seal in the same fashion. Both of them closed their eyes, still seeing each other in their minds. These feelings which they could muster and share, at first they were frightening, but now…now the two could not help but share them, the essences of their beings. A weak golden glow emanated from the marks, and the boys stopped to look at each other again. "Amazing."

"Beautiful," Naruto replied softly and lovingly. He cuddled up next to his mate, and Kiba hugged him close. He wrapped the sheets over them and continued hugging his blond. They stayed like this for a while until Tsume opened their door.

"Kami you guys are cute together," she commented almost flatly. Tsume thought she was being way too girly, so she kept these comments to an absolute minimum. "Come on, up and at 'em. You've got missions today." Her sons lightly kissed before climbing out of bed. Tsume was no perv, but her sons had become so handsome. Their faces began showing their maturity, Naruto a bit ahead of Kiba, and their bodies were simply gorgeous, completely toned flat, not an inch of baby fat to be found, not any "bulky" muscle growth anywhere. When they were together, Tsume could swear she was looking at Kami himself, or herself if that so happened to be the case. Admittedly, she had a slim figure and was beautiful, but Tsume thought of herself as nothing special, except perhaps a badass.

Her boys kissed as they walked to her bathroom, and they entered the shower to both clean themselves and pleasure each other. "Alright Hana, I'm heading out. The boys should be down soon enough. Come on Kurumaru," Tsume called as she walked out the door. The black wolf simply jumped from the upstairs window. On her way to Tsunade's, Tsume spotted Renji and Ichigo making out on a hillside, their foxes nowhere in sight. "That's right, Sukima's daughter should be here by the end of the day. I wonder if she's like Hana."

"Calm down Rukia," the young woman's partner begged her. "You're mom wouldn't have"

"Just be quiet Ishida!" the girl snapped toward her canine companion. Rukia was in a fury. "She doesn't listen! I told her a hundred times I just wanted to stay at home; I'm not meant to babysit my brother all the time. Mom just never considers anything I say to hold any value!" Her screaming was done for a while as she huffed at the cautious fox. After a tense thirty seconds, she calmed back down. "Come on, might as well get there before Renji picks a fight with another street gang," she finally spoke before continuing walking. Ishida followed a couple feet behind with his head low. He always felt guilty after Rukia started yelling.

"Aaaah, Kiiiiiba," Naruto sighed as he came. His brunette growled possessively as the liquid flowed from his mate's shaft, over his hand, and into the water. Kiba lightly bit down on the blond's shoulder as his own orgasm was pulled from him, causing Naruto to mewl as his insides were filled with hot seed. He breathed hard for a couple seconds, and then his mate drew out.

"I love you," Kiba spoke with a smile. Naruto smiled in return before embracing and kissing his stepbrother. He sucked his seed off of Kiba's fingers before grabbing the body wash.

"Time to clean up," he spoke. The two boys massaged each other and washed off before grabbing their new clothes and going downstairs to bowls of cereal, hash browns, and homemade sausage. "Smells great Hana."

"Thanks Naruto," she replied as she put her dishes away. "I'm going in for a mission, so you guys might have to handle dinner tonight. You know where the recipe cards are." Her brothers nodded as they sat down and ate. Hana and Shen went out the door, leaving the Inuzuka brothers to their food, which was quickly devoured before dishes were put away, cereal was put in the cabinet, and the boys shared a goodbye kiss.

The blond met Sakura patiently waiting at the light post for their sensei. He could feel the stares of people behind him, no one daring to hate him to his face anymore, but at least the attempted beatings had stopped, and shop clerks had let him pay only what the price tags showed. Naruto knew though that these things had been given grudgingly, so things hadn't really improved. Kids still avoided him, people ignored him when possible, and the air still echoed with disgust.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura called as she waved. The blond caught up to her with a smile. "Well, you beat Kakashi-Sensei here."

"Well, that's not impressive," the blond replied with a genuine grin. He put his arms behind his head as always and closed his eyes as he grinned. "How's your medical jutsu coming along?"

"Oh, pretty well; Sensei has a new lesson for me when we get our mission done. It has to do with heavy metal poisoning like lead." Naruto nodded. When it wasn't strategy, he really wasn't all that stupid. Sure, he wouldn't know Barium from Boron, from Beryllium, but Naruto was knowledgeable enough. "Your training?"

"It's tough," the blond stated. He lifted his right hand to show the marks, and Sakura was almost frightened. "I haven't been able to do it right, unless I'm…" He was referring to when he was in Kyuubi's Cloak. A single-handed Rasengan had eluded him for the past three weeks, and now he was taking a small break to fix his hand. Sakura's hands began glowing, and she healed up his chakra burns. "Oh, thanks Sakura-Chan." The pink-haired girl smiled back, and their sensei finally poofed out of nowhere in a cloud of smoke.

"You're late Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura stated irritably.

"Then let's get moving shall we?" he asked before turning towards the red building. Team 7 went up to the Hokage's office, and Tsunade welcomed them in as usual. "Won't we be having the Chuunin Exams again soon?" the white-haired man asked.

"Yes, that is actually your new mission: prepare for the next set of Chuunin Exams," Tsunade replied. "I have here the data from the last set. It was obviously cut short by Orochimaru, but the information from the examiners from your fights is here. Sakura, you failed to make it to the final rounds due to a tie with Ino. That obviously won't happen this time." The pink-haired girl seemed a bit miffed about recalling that humiliating end. "Naruto, you made it to the finals surprisingly," the blond huffed at that comment "you beat Neji in an impressive show of strength, but you lacked decision making. My advice for you is this: don't actually try to show off. I heard why exactly you fought Neji so hard, but this time, think your battles through, and show the proctors that you can think on top of fight. You're more than capable of becoming a Chuunin, but you have to impress me too. Sakura, you're practically in anyway. You have ten days until you meet for the written exam." Thoughts went back through Naruto's mind, memories of the last time he dealt with Ibiki Morino. Ya, this would be a cinch if he could just survive the Forest of Death and not get his team's scroll stolen. "You two are veterans, so make your village proud. Shikamaru is also a judge, so you have better chances this time around."

"I'll do my best Tsunade-Sama," Sakura declared.

"Me too, I still have to get better so I can beat Orochimaru," Naruto spoke with a smile. "I'll bring Sasuke home one day; I know it." Tsunade smiled lightly and closed her eyes.

"Alright, off with you two. I have to tell the other teams too," Tsunade spoke before dismissing Team 7. "I have high hopes for you Naruto, especially after you beat Neji AND Kurumaru. You'll be great. Enter," she called after hearing knocks. It was Team Asuma next.

"Well, you two essentially have the day off unless you're going to train," Kakashi stated. "I myself am going to get a mission. I'll meet you here tomorrow so that we can start coordination exercises." His students looked skeptical. "Admit it; you two don't know how to fight alongside each other." Both of them blushed. "8 A.M. sharp." With that, their sensei disappeared.

"Well, I have my medical lesson Naruto, but maybe we can train later today," Sakura stated with a smile. The blond nodded, and they parted ways. While he was walking, Naruto spotted a girl with medium length black hair and a fox walking behind her. He didn't recognize her though, and so Naruto went up to meet her.

"Hello Miss," he stated as he held out his hand. Rukia just looked at it, like she was staring at the ground below it. "My name's Naruto. You're from the Kitsungen Family right?" With that, the girl punched him in the gut and pinned him, causing every one of the villagers to stop and watch to see if their enemy would lose his life even without their help. She drew a kunai and put it to his neck, making the blond freeze in fear.

"Don't, move, an inch," the girl whispered in his ear. A barely audible grunt was her response. "How do you know my name?"

"Th-The fox," Naruto claimed. His arm was pulled and pressed harder, making him wince. "Every person in your family has one."

"Oh, and who told you this?" she asked, squeezing his wrist painfully.

"R-Renji and I-Ichigo," he stated. There was a long pause, and the knife clicked, making Naruto think he'd be stabbed. When he saw it leave, he breathed a sigh of relief. Rukia got off of him and let him rise.

"You know my brother Renji?" she asked. Naruto nodded. "I'm his sister, Rukia. How do you know him?"

"I'm a member of the Inuzuka Family," Naruto stated. The girl smiled, remembering her manners.

"Sorry 'bout that, just had to be careful," she spoke happily. "Would you mind taking me to see my little brother?" Naruto wouldn't dare refuse her request, and so he led Rukia back to the Inuzuka Estate. "Thanks Naruto," she spoke. "I'll just track him from here. I can smell him." The blond nodded as he held out his hand. Rukia wasn't very sociable when it came to gestures, but she shook his hand before going to hunt down her brother and maybe kick his ass.

"_**Jeez, she's almost as frightening as that beast you call Mom,"**_ Kyuubi stated. _**"All the testosterone of a guy, all the beauty of a woman, and quite a fine one at that."**_

"You and your dirty thoughts Kyuu," Naruto said into his mind. "Don't get any ideas, please."

"_**I'm not,"**_ the fox replied. _**"I have a mate waiting for me somewhere. I can't wait to meet her. She has the silkiest and most luminescent fur, and her eyes are a wonderful gold which I could just drown in. Her form was so majestic, and her howl was like the voice of a siren. Hmmm, if only I could be with her right now…. Of course, I'll wait until you pass on or I'm released. We demons are immortal anyway, so no major rush. Seventy, eighty years isn't all that much."**_

Naruto just smiled as he walked back to the house. "So, does this mean no sex with anyone else ever again Kyuu?" The fox blushed, but then the thought sank in. Naruto received no response. "Hey, she's your mate. It's not like it'll be bad."

"_**Ya, I shouldn't worry,"**_ Kyuubi replied. _**"So, Mating Season is next month."**_ Naruto smiled. Yup, and Mating Season promised more time with his stepbrother Kiba, and the sex would become twice as pleasurable. _**"Indeed, there's a lot to look forward to when you're a gay, sexy, horny fox with a mate so…incredible at pleasing you."**_ Kyuubi used those specific words to put images into Naruto's head, and the blond became erect because of it. _**"Just think, double sessions, late nights, that hot body…"**_ The blond's breathing increased as he pictured it. _**"He'll beg you for relief, rip off your clothes, and tell you to pound him into the bed until he bleeds."**_ The mind Kyuubi was toying with was so easily manipulated. Naruto would always deny it, but he was on an equal perversion level with his senseis. _**"He'll be a good uke and sit on you, bringing his ass over your swollen manhood, bringing you both closer to that glorious edge."**_ Naruto moaned and rocked his hips in a circular motion as he sat on the couch dreaming of his mate. _**"He'll scream your name as you claim him, and his seed will be lost to you as you continue pounding that tight heat."**_ The blond was sweating as he kept rocking his hips and imagining the feeling, and he moaned; Naruto was so close, and Kyuubi still had one more trick left, the ace in the hole. _**"And don't forget that mouth of his. He'll lustily lick you, just gracing your head until his hunger gets the best of him. Then, Kiba will swallow you whole, taking in everything."**_ This was it. Naruto couldn't take any more. _**"He'll suck you hard, ready to drink his alpha's cum like a good boy. And right when you're ready to spill, you'll thank him and scream"**_

"KIBAAA!" Naruto roared as he lost it. Hot, sticky seed shot from him and formed a large and wet stain in his boxers, and the blond shook from each wave of afterglow. He was lolling and sweating on the couch, and he regained consciousness in bliss, and then anger. "Fuck you Kyuubi," he told the fox. "Great, now I gotta change."

"No you don't," a voice spoke out. Naruto turned in surprise. Kiba was smirking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Thinking about someone Naruto?" he asked lightly and yet in accusation. His blond blushed, and now his seed felt cold against his body. "Feeling a bit anxious?"

"No!" the blond snapped back.

"Then explain this," Kiba spoke before pulling Naruto's orange pants to his knees so fast the blond never saw it. His red boxers had a huge wet stain on them, and Naruto blushed. "That sure isn't piss. Come on Naruto, don't lie. My nose can tell." The blond wanted to temporarily disappear, and Kiba decided to let up on him. "Well Naruto, I don't think I can control myself with such an embarrassed fox standing in front of me who just had a wet dream right in front of my eyes. After all, that cum should have either been in my mouth, my ass, or on the floor after a session, not stuck to your underwear." Naruto smiled deviously, and Kiba began pulling his own shirt off. "Come 'ere foxy!" he declared before jumping onto the blond, forcing him back onto the couch. The two kissed lustily, but hormones had gone into overdrive. Kiba was stark naked in ten seconds, and Naruto another five.

"You want my cum in your ass?" the blond asked crazily. "Then take it!" Naruto plunged headlong into rutting, the delicious and partially tightened heat of his brother putting him on cloud nine. Kiba howled as his ass was thoroughly abused. He laid on his back and jerked himself as Naruto held his feet and pounded into him. It was a good thing they were on the couch, or he would have hit his head by now. The blond struck his pleasure center, and Kiba yelled in ecstasy.

"Fuck Naruto I love you," he managed to get out. The blond put his hands next to the brunette's head, spread his legs a bit, and began pounding in harder. Kiba and he kissed passionately, and Naruto grabbed his well-hardened cock. "Yes, mm," Kiba groaned. Naruto was close, and this time, he came before his stepbrother despite the fact that he was the alpha. He howled as his fox instincts commanded, and Kiba was sent over the edge as he felt the fiery release within him. "Agh, NARUTOOO!" Hot white seed covered both their chests as they panted, and everything would have been fine were it not for the fact that Tsume had come home early. She gave the boys five seconds to fully regain consciousness before she blew up on them for breaking her rule.

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT HAVING SEX DOWNSTAIRS!?!" Tsume yelled. Both boys turned to her in fear. It was fast, brutal, and pride-bruising. Naruto ended up with a busted lip, and Kiba had a bruise the size of a grapefruit on his side. "IF I EVER CATCH YOU DOING THIS AGAIN, I'LL RIP OFF ONE OF YOUR TESTICLES, GOT IT!?" The boys nodded as best they could, and the woman went up to her room. Kurumaru stood in the doorway laughing at the pitiful state the two had been reduced to.

"It was worth it though," Kiba whispered. Naruto got up and healed him before going upstairs and getting a new pair of boxers. The boys were now both relieved of lust and were dressed. "Sorry I did that to you," he spoke. Naruto just kissed him and felt over his clan markings.

"Hey, once Mating Season starts, we'll probably end up doing that to each other a lot," the boy told Kiba. "I don't blame you." The brunette nuzzled him, and the two went about the rest of their day training at the dojo. "So, ten days, and we're back to fighting each other."

"Well, only if there's a preliminary round again," Kiba replied as they walked. "That's weird; I don't smell Hana cooking."

"Oh," Naruto began. "She must have gotten a mission. Hana said we could use the recipe cards to make something if she didn't come back 'cause of a mission." There was a small pause. "What do you want?"

"Hmm, we could do burgers with all the ground meat," Kiba suggested.

"Nah, we had those last week," Naruto replied. "I know…that one rice dish!"

"Ya!" the brunette spoke in anxiousness. "Hurry up Naruto." They sped to the house, threw open the cabinets, and started pulling out all the ingredients they would need according to the recipe card. "First step: Put rice in cheesecloth bag and suspend in the steamer once water is boiling." Naruto's clones lifted the heavy bag and poured out two cups worth like the card said. "Good, it needs to steam for just a couple minutes, to kill any bacteria and to just soften it." The blond tied off the bag and hung it before lighting the coals under the pot already full of water. This was no ordinary pot. It weighed a ton, and it was about a half inch thick while being very wide and also tall, so getting water into it had to be done by pitcher.

Kiba meanwhile started browning about a pound of ground meat in a large skillet. He broke the large brick into smaller pieces and stirred them so they didn't stick until the little fat cooked out. "Okay, Naruto, go ahead and dice up the red and green peppers." The blond went to it with the good knife. He wasn't totally clumsy when it came to sharp objects, just hanging stuff, blunt objects, and the occasional clothing tear. "Alright, now for the white onions, two big ones, chopped." The blond hated doing the onions. They burned for Hell's sake. Kiba helped with the second onion after Naruto's eyes were watering too much. A while after adding the onions to the browned meat, the acid dissipated from the air, and Naruto removed the steamed rice. "Still a bit crunchy?"

"Ya," the blond replied. "I'll blend up the big tomatoes." Kiba added the peppers, and then the rice, and Naruto had the tomato purée ready. He put the mixture now into a deeper pan before adding the tomato juice. Once it soaked into the rice, the dish would be done. "Oh, don't forget the melted cheese on top," Naruto reminded him.

"In five minutes," Kiba said, pointing to the card. "First, put out the coals, and then join me on the couch for a bit, 'kay foxy?" Naruto smiled, and he poured water over the red glowing embers before joining his stepbrother.

"You know what'll happen if Mom catches us right?" Naruto asked in hesitation.

"I didn't mean that," the brunette spoke with a smile. He kissed Naruto and wrapped his arms around his head and back. The blond sat them both down, and they smooched it out calmly until Kiba heard the timer ding. "Okay, now the cheese, five more minutes, and we eat."

**8 Minutes Later:** "Dig in," the brunette told his brother. Naruto scooped some of the food off his plate with a fork, and a string of cheese led from the plate to his closed mouth. The two boys ate happily for twenty minutes before putting their stuff in the dishwasher. "Hm, it needs to be run," Kiba decided when he saw the thing was pretty full/ He put some dish soap in, set it, and let it run so it could be unloaded the next morning. They left the heat on very low so that Tsume or Hana could come back and enjoy a nice warm meal.

"HAAAaaaaah, mm, I'm tired," Naruto declared. Kiba lightly kissed him. "We did it twice already today. I just want to go to bed."

"Ya, come on Akamaru." The now bigger( but still maybe 15-month-old lab size) white dog barked before following them upstairs. Kiba undressed and put on his striped tiger pajamas and cap. Naruto chose to sleep in his boxers, but he wrapped his body around his mate's, the sleek fuzziness appealing so much to his fox side. "You're so cute when you're like this Naruto," Kiba spoke as he nuzzled his cheek against his lover's.

"Mmm," the blond replied. A few minutes later, both boys were asleep, but not Kyuubi. The fox kept envisioning his mate, trying to hold her form in his hands. He wanted to meet her so much, but in order to do that, he'd have to kill Naruto, or Naruto would have to live and die of old age. It wasn't likely that someone was trying to develop a safe extraction jutsu.

He sniffled as a tear ran down his smooth, flawless cheek. _**"Please do not be angry with me, mate**_," Kyuubi asked, even though he knew she could not hear him. He wrapped himself tightly beneath the covers, and he dreamt of his intended.

**Author Notes: Ya, it's short, but we'll get into the real training, and Rukia will be a pain in the ass with Renji. In other words, next chapt will be more fun. At least I put yaoi in it (even if it was a quickie).**


	3. He's Baack

**Author Notes: Okay, new chapter. Everyone's training hard, including our favorite pair. To answer a common question. I may not be able to update every week, but I shouldn't take longer than ten days, and I'll send you part of a chapter if that becomes a problem.**

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**Kiba:** He dreamt peacefully, his mind wandering far and free. In the Inuzuka's dream, he was a true dog…big, fierce, handsome, and curious. He would chase rabbits and the occasional bird, but then his dream self found itself near a river. There, sitting in the sunlight and enjoying a drink of refreshing cold water was a fox. It's fur was a deep orange with a calm, golden spot on the crest of the beast's head.

Something drew Kiba to this fox, but when the blue eyes met hazel, they became hesitant, fearful. The brunette smiled, but the beautiful creature ran away. Kiba followed as best he could, watching the tail flick this way and that. The fox came upon a rock face, but he could not climb it no matter how hard he clawed at it. When Kiba came into the small clearing, the fox turned in fear, looking this way and that for safety. A great dog like this would eat him alive.

The brunette merely wished to be close to this majestic being, and he stepped forward slowly, effectively pushing the orange creature into a corner. His object of curiosity whimpered for mercy as the dog came closer. Kiba stood over him, and he lowered his head and pushed lightly on the side of the fox's head. The fox lifted his head in curiosity, but still fear, and Kiba rubbed his soft neck fur against the fox's.

The whimpering faded, and the fox rubbed back and purred deeply in his throat. Kiba licked his neck affectionately, and the fox lightly teethed the underside of his neck in submission. The brunette lifted his head, meeting eyes with the beautiful fox. Then, the dream faded. Kiba woke up smiling, and he felt the strong arms of his stepbrother wrapped around his chest.

"Good morning Naru-Kun," Kiba whispered in his fox's ear as he carefully turned over in his lover's arms. The brunette nuzzled their cheeks together, and the blond was eventually woken from his rest. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yup," Naruto replied. His happy blue eyes always reminded Kiba of the sky…so peaceful, and so free. "I have to train for the Chuunin Exams today," he spoke excitedly as he jumped out of bed. "Come on, we need a shower, and I need to meet Kakashi-Sensei and Sakura for synchronization training." Kiba loved that eager side, and so he quickly got together a pack of clothes and followed the blond to the shower. Naruto had turned the warm water on, and he removed his boxers before going right in.

"Wait for me Naruto, jeez," Kiba spoke humorously as he shook his head. He quickly undressed and joined his brother. Naruto smiled as he wrapped his arms around Kiba's waist and brought the now only slightly smaller brunette to him for a kiss. Kiba was in the middle of a growth spurt, and it was predicted he would end up just a little taller than Naruto at the end of it. Naruto didn't lick with his tongue, and Kiba smiled inwardly. He was enchanted when his lover truly asked for his love. The brunette kissed back, and a soft finger began rubbing his right fang tattoo. Eventually, the kiss just broke as the Inuzuka pushed into the touch, relishing at the feeling of Naruto's presence being inside him and loving him from the inside out. He weakly reached up and treated his fox's seal equally. It was soft, slow, loving, and the marks radiated that light, heavenly glow. "Mate," the teen whispered.

"Mate," Naruto replied affirmatively, but still quietly. He reopened his eyes, and he stopped rubbing before lovingly claiming his beta's lips. After about a minute, they softly separated and just stared into each other's eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too Naruto," Kiba spoke. He grabbed the shampoo and worked on the blond, and they cleaned each other off without even a hint of lust entering their minds. "I wonder what Hana decided to make for breakfast," the brunette spoke as they exited the bathroom.

"Nothing, your sister is sick in bed," Tsume told the boys. "Go have some cereal, and keep it down."

"Okay, I hope Neesan gets better soon," Naruto told his mother. He and Kiba ate their breakfast quickly and then left to join their respective squads. "Hm, Sakura isn't here yet," Naruto noticed when he reached the training grounds. Well, it was only 7:45. "Might as well stretch." Naruto walked up a tree and hung from a branch to stretch out his whole body. Then he did lunges and a few sit-ups as a warm up. Sakura arrived right at eight, and surprisingly, so did Kakashi. "Finish your book?" Naruto asked, a tad of suggestiveness in his voice.

"No, and I'm sacrificing reading time here," the white-haired man spoke. "First we'll work on fighting as a pair. You two, against me." The pink-haired girl looked up at him as if he were crazy. "You have one goal, get the silver bell within the hour. There is no consequence if you don't, but try and give me a workout. Use your collective knowledge and skills to try and pin me. I won't use Chidori, but you may use whatever you wish to defeat me. Ready?" His subordinates nodded. "Begin." The shadow clone disappeared, and Sakura immediately tried to sense their teacher out.

"Naruto, make about ten clones," she suggested. The blond did as he was told, and they all threw shuriken at the area Sakura pointed to. Kakashi sprang from the trees and began flipping through a few hand signs.

"Fireball Jutsu!" he called. Half of Naruto's clones got destroyed, but Sakura leapt at the man with a chakra-focused punch ready. "Uh," Kakashi spoke in surprise when she came close. He revealed his Sharingan, and with the eye, he dodged her forward punch. Kakashi drew a kunai and ninja wire, and he chucked it into a tree. "Now Naruto!" the girl yelled as she grabbed hold of the man.

"Got it," the blond responded as he came from the side with a Rasengan. Kakashi pulled himself to the tree with the wire, effectively dodging the chakra orb. An unseen clone was waiting for him, and the white-haired man just barely drew his kunai in time to counter the clone's. Sakura wound up another punch, but he kicked the girl away from himself before dispatching the clone.

"We were so close," the girl spat as she held her side. The girl's hand glowed in healing chakra, but Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Kakashi looked around for him, but the blond was nowhere in sight. His chakra however, gave him away.

"Earth Style: Red Fissure!" the Jounin called as he jumped into the air. A pair of hands stuck up from where his legs had been not long before. The ground cracked, and the clones had to scramble out to remain alive. Only Naruto and a single clone were left. "You're getting better, but you're team fighting isn't. Individual skills only help when you're alone. You need to cover each other's weaknesses and help to increase each other's strengths. Didn't I tell you that from day one?"

Sakura looked down, but then she smiled. "Ya, I guess you're right." Wait, Sakura wasn't being down heartened? Something was up. "You fell for it Sensei," she called before a wall of kunai and shuriken went speeding at Kakashi from every side. The man had only a second to react, and he dove under ground to avoid getting killed. An earth-shattering punch from Sakura followed, sending him into the air, unable to dodge. Naruto's clone came at him from the side with a kunai, slamming into the other steel blade hard. Kakashi could barely hold him without leverage. Sakura came in with a punch on the same side, but now Kakashi couldn't block her with his right arm. Instead, he caught her fist with his left, his arms now in an X. Naruto sprang from a tree with a Rasengan in his hand.

"One-handed?!?" Kakashi spoke in surprise. He spun off his two other opponents before kneeing the real Naruto in the stomach. The Rasengan burst apart, but the Jounin received a strong blow to his left leg. "Damn!" Sakura had punched him hard, Naruto's clone having thrown her to get in a hit in time. Kakashi landed against the side of a tree and winced. "Crap, she got me good. Well, at least Naruto's received a blow too."

"You alright Naruto?" Sakura asked as she stared at the spot in the tree and held a kunai defensively.

"Ya, I'll be fine," the blond spoke as he rose. "We just have to get in another hit, maybe two." The two began another chain of attacks, and so the fight went on. Kiba meanwhile sparred with a vastly improved Hinata. Akamaru was already down, and the Hyuuga only had one scratch on her.

"I won't be able…to fight too much longer," Kiba spoke as he breathed hard. Then he remembered his soldier pills. Hinata came running at him, and he popped the black sphere before dodging her gentle fist. _"1…2…3…"_ He counted the seconds as he watched the pinpoint strikes just barely missing his body. _"6!"_ Snatch! Kiba caught Hinata's hand in his own.

"Oh no," the girl spoke fearfully as his chakra level spiked. Boom! "Aagh," she grunted as the punch sent her into a tree.

"You okay Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"I'm fine…k-keep coming at me with all you've got!" the Hyuuga spoke confidently before reentering her stance. "Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!"

"Naruto, dodge!" Sakura yelled as shuriken came at the boy from behind. Naruto got away, and Kakashi came after him. The blond dodged his punch solely because he could hear it, and he clashed kunai against kunai. In an aerial maneuver, the blond turned them both toward the ground, falling upside down. A Rasengan began forming in his left hand, and Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Not yet," he spoke before barely managing to pull out of the dive. The ground was blown apart by the impact, but as Kakashi flew back in midair, Sakura used her medical skills and severed his left arm and left leg tendons. "Damn!" Naruto sprung at him, and his hand gripped the little silver orb. The line snapped, and the fight ended. Kakashi sighed. "I guess that's enough for today," the white-haired man spoke before disappearing in white smoke. Kakashi came down from a perch in a tree.

"Aw maaaan!" Naruto whined. "We got the wrong one!"

"No, you were fighting a clone the whole time," the man explained. "We'll run through this exercise a couple other times before the exam, but that was good for day one. You'll survive the Forest of Death easily if you work as a team. I know you're down one member, but you're both on mid-Chuunin level anyway. The rest of the day is yours." This Kakashi poofed away as well when he was done, leaving both of the tired shinobi alone.

"That was fun," Sakura spoke. "He was going easy on us though."

"Ya, which means I don't stand a chance against Orochimaru yet," Naruto admitted, a bit of a disappointed look on his face. "Don't worry…I will bring Sasuke back one day."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. The blond turned to her. "I know you're with Kiba and all, but do you think you're going after Sasuke so much because you…because you maybe love him?" Naruto was surprised by her question, but he chose to consider it.

"I love Kiba," he spoke after a while as he stared at the sky. Sakura let out a breath. "But maybe, maybe at one point, I did." Now the girl was distressed. "I guess I just wanted someone to talk to, since neither of us had a family left. But you know what he told me at the Valley of the End? He said 'how can you understand? You were alone from the beginning!' Maybe I couldn't understand his feelings about losing every person he cared about, but I still tried."

"Oh, enough of that Naruto," the girl spoke humorously, like she was talking to a mischievous six-year-old. Her smile made the blond smirk, and they walked to Ichiraku's for a midday meal. "Hello Jiisama. (I don't know the honorific for the hold man, but jiisama is for a wise elder of a family. Send me it if you find it.) I'll have a miso. You Naruto?"

"Ya, somethin' light," the blond replied. Teuchi had them each a bowl in a matter of seconds. "Thanks old man. The Chuunin Exams are coming up, so Sakura and I are training hard."

"Oh? Well I wish you luck Naruto. Show 'em what the Leaf Village's number one hyperactive, knuckleheaded ninja can do," he told the blond. "Make me proud Naruto, me and Ayame."

Sluuuurp. "I will," he declared with a smile on his face. "I'll be a Chuunin this time."

"Oh, so you're finally gonna do it Naruto?" an all too familiar voice asked.

"Pervy Sage?!" Naruto asked as he turned. "What're you doing here…besides research?" he added in accusation.

"Well, I came by to see my favorite pupil, see how he's improved slowly without me," Jiraiya added to purposely tick a nerve. Naruto blushed in anger.

"Slow learner, am I?" he asked, finishing up his bowl quickly before chasing down the white-haired pervert. "I'll show you slow. Rasengan!" The blond had one in his hand not a second before making contact with the sage's back.

"One-handed?" he asked before getting flung into, of course, the women's hot spring. A half minute later, he came back bruise up, beaten, and losing a lot of blood from his nose. "Thanks, I needed that."

"You damn pervert!" Naruto spoke before thwacking him on the back of the head.

"Hey, don't go disrespecting your Sensei _tooo_ much. Otherwise, I won't teach you anything," Jiraiya threatened. Naruto instantly became putty in his hands, waiting on faded breath for a lesson. _"Well I'll be, a ring? He must've impressed a girl with that one-handed Rasengan of his. I think he owes me, later though."_ "So, you finally learned to do it one-handed? I must say, that's more than I thought you'd accomplish. This time I'll teach you somethin' really fun."

"What?" the blond asked enthusiastically. Jiraiya picked him up and put him over his shoulder. "Hey, put me down! Pervy Sage! People are watching."

"Then quit whining and struggling so I can get us where we need to go," Jiraiya commanded his student. Naruto crossed his arms and huffed before Jiraiya blurred out of sight. His eyes watered until they came upon a small grove. "Okay, I'm gonna teach you how to do that. It's called Shunpo, or Flash Step. It requires skilled chakra control, and once you learn it, you can use it for anything from battles to racing to running away from your girlfriend." He stared at the ring, and Naruto blushed while covering it up. "So, can I meet her?" Naruto paled in awkwardness. "I guess that's a no."

"Of course not you damned pervert!" Naruto yelled before punching his Sensei in the face. That's right, Naruto had never told his teacher that (gulp)…he was gay. It wasn't like Naruto wanted to tell him now either. "Now, teach me this damned technique, and don't you dare keep having your dirty thoughts." His eyes told the whole story, and Jiraiya relented.

"Okay, first things first…"

"Uuuu," Hana moaned. She had caught some nasty head cold, and her sinuses were absolutely plugged up. "Mom, do you think we could maybe just do chicken noodle soup tonight?"

"Sure Hana," Tsume spoke as she rubbed her daughter's cheek. When Kiba got sick, she wouldn't do this for him, to toughen him up, but now, she kind of regretted it, because now her bond with her son wasn't all that deep. "I'll go start the chicken broth. We've got a whole bunch of breast meat in the fridge too. You want celery and carrots in it?"

"Yes please," the woman told her. Hana put her head back down and tried to fall asleep. Tsume went to cooking, and after a couple failed attempts, she just got the stupid recipe card. Hana thanked her for the efforts, and Kiba finally walked in downstairs. "Welcome home Otouto," Hana called as best she could.

"Thanks, sorry to hear you're feelin' so crummy Sis. Get better soon won'tcha?" Kiba asked. His sister nodded. "Is Naruto back yet?"

"Nope, but you know how he can be with his training," Tsume told her son with a smile as she messed up his hair a bit. "Come on; you can help me clean up the chicken soup I screwed up on."

Seven o' clock rolled around, and Naruto had still not shown up. "He's usually hungry by now," Kiba stated, almost in worry.

"Like I said, you know how he gets," Tsume told him. "If he's not back by nine, we'll go sniff 'im out. Oh, he brought Renji's older sister home yesterday. Be glad she's not your mother, because I swear she has a temper worse than mine AND Tsunade-Sama's." Kiba shivered. WORSE? Someone had a WORSE temper than his mom and the Hokage? Kami needed to come and fix up the world in Kiba's opinion. "Speaking of Renji, he and Ichigo have hit it off quite nicely on the estate. Sukima is thinking of maybe just sending the family members with destined mates in our clan here, but we'll see how it goes. Those foxes are somethin' else. I saw one chase down a spy so fast it makes Kurumaru look like an old man. I'm beginning to like these people. Maybe I'll find a real man among 'em."

"I wish you luck," Kiba spoke genuinely. His eyes were fixated out the window though. Where was Naruto?

The blond boy panted. His chakra reserves were spent, and he had JUST figured out how to envelope himself in a small amount of chakra AND move with it. "Alright Naruto. You're pretty much there. Come by here tomorrow and we'll keep working on it." The blond released a sigh of relief.

"Alright, early morning?" he asked.

"Nah, I need at least six hours to do my research. Come back by four," Ero-Sennin spoke before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Naruto drew on Kyuubi's chakra just a bit and began the trek home. He went through the treetops to find his way, and then he used smell once he got close enough to the village. Unbeknownst to him though, Jiraiya was following, determined to find out what kind of woman his girlfriend was. It would have to be someone accepting, kind, and tasteful, or it would have to be some fangirl. The third option was the worst in Jiraiya's opinion, an extortionist, just using Naruto for money and for…_other_ things.

"Nah, Naruto's way too shy. I'd bet my whole checkbook he's still a virgin," the pervert thought to himself. "That can be my present to him on his next birthday. I have the connections to enough women. A whore wouldn't be my first choice for first time sex, but hey, he'll never learn unless you toss him onto the battlefield." The blond entered the Inuzuka estate, and Jiraiya became curious. "Why's he coming here? Don't tell me they burnt his apartment."

"Hey, I'm back," Naruto called once he entered the house. Kiba instantly pulled him into a warm kiss. "Sorry, did I worry you?"

"Just a bit," Kiba told him before letting go of his fox. They sat down at the table, and Jiraiya applied a scent mask to keep from being discovered. "Mm, great soup Mom," Kiba told Tsume. The woman smiled. "Use the recipe card?" Now she scowled as she blushed. "Doesn't matter. You still know how to make a cheesecake better than Hana."

"That's true, best damn cheesecake in all of Konoha," the woman spoke. Naruto had never heard of this. (I referenced this in TCL Akamaru said it, so finding the line won't be tough. All of Akamaru's dialogue is in bold.) "Maybe when Hana's feeling better, I'll take ten hours and make one."

"Sounds interesting," Naruto stated. "Pervy Sage finally came back. He's teaching me how to go really fast, like lightning fast. I kinda got it down, but I'm out of chakra until tomorrow. I'll show it to you when my training's complete."

"Awesome, hey, Hinata's getting really good. She might be as hard to beat as Neji was, and you saw her defense," Kiba told his stepbrother. "I don't know how Shino's doing, but if it comes down to a fight between you and me, you better not be depending on a gas attack. That was cheap."

"You seem to forget I beat Kurumaru," Naruto added before taking in another spoonful of soup. Kiba finally remembered. Maybe HE should go and train like mad at the dojo. "We'll both make Chuunin. I'm sure of it."

"Cheers to the soon-to be Chuunin of the Inuzuka Family," Tsume called as she raised a glass of saké. Naruto and Kiba just had water glasses, but they clanked before putting the dishes away. "Night boys."

"Goodnight Mom," Naruto spoke before heading upstairs with Kiba. Jiraiya was still curious, and he followed them up until he was at the boys' window. "Well, it's been a day."

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked in genuine ignorance. Naruto rolled his eyes and smiled.

"I mean _this_," the blond spoke before, to Jiraiya's horror (and possibly perverted interest), taking Kiba by the collar and bringing their lips together. The brunette smiled deviously. "You've been the alpha for the last couple of days, my turn." With that, Naruto threw his stepbrother onto the bed. Jiraiya was in shock.

"_No freaking way!!!"_ he screamed in his head. _"No, Naruto, say it isn't so. I was gonna get you a whore on your birthdaaaay. No, this breaks all Hokage tradition! Every previous Hokage was at least a partial womanizer. Each one: Sarutobi, your dad, me, Kakashi, we're all perverts for WOMEN! You can't go and break my heart like this. Wait, maybe Kiba forced him into it, or this is just a phase. Yeah, that's it. I think Minato had a thing for that one Uchiha way back when. He went off and had you though Naruto. Ya, you're just experimenting. It's normal for teen guys to experiment, just not usually with each other."_ Suddenly, Jiraiya got a great idea for a new book series, one for fangirls, and curious guys. It would be a book describing the habits of teenage males, and it would show how a gay relationship played out and then turned into a guy-girl thing. _"Genius! Thanks Naruto. You're gonna make me twice as, no, three times as rich…aaand I'll give you…ten percent of the sales? Ya, ten sounds about right. After all, you're just the basis for a character. It takes writing genius and research skills to make the dough. Ya, I can forgive you, especially when there's all this cash involved. Now, be a good star and give me a show."_

The two boys were now shirtless, and Naruto held Kiba down by his upper arms as they slowly, passionately kissed. The blond broke of and smiled at his happy and also smiling mate. "Kami I love you Kiba," Naruto spoke as he sat up on his knees and released Kiba's arms. The brunette went on his elbows, and the blond leaned down once again to nuzzle with his boyfriend. _"THAT'S WHERE THE RING CAME FROM!"_ Jiraiya realized. _"THEY'RE SERIOUS?! No, it's a phase,"_ he told himself definitively. _"Ooo, moneymaker here I come,"_ Jiraiya thought anxiously to himself as he wrote down what he saw. As Naruto kissed his beta mate, he slipped his hand under the waistband of his ninja pants and unbuttoned them before sliding them down and off his legs. _"At least you're the top dog Naruto. I don't know if I could look at you the same if I knew you were the Uke."_

"I love you Naruto," Kiba breathed as his neck was licked lovingly and lightly chewed on. The blond lightly grazed his teeth over the skin beneath Kiba's chin, an act of submission, but it was being used to prove his love. After Naruto was done with this, he kissed his mate lovingly again. Kiba undid the button on the blond's pants, but he couldn't fully remove them in their current position. Naruto put them both on their sides, and Kiba finished pulling off his orange pants. Jiraiya was sweating. _"Kami you've been working out Naruto. You're a freaking stud! It…brings a tear to my eye. Not that I'M gay, but you're pretty hot as far as guys go."_

"Since it's my night, we're gonna take it slow," Naruto told his stepbrother. Kiba smiled and lightly kissed him. The blond once again took his dominant position above Kiba, and he lightly ground their clothed erections together, eliciting a small, low moan from his mate, and then, his hands began massaging the Inuzuka Clan Markings on his cheeks.

"Naruto," Kiba mewled. His hands gripped Naruto at the waist, and he began massaging the perfectly visible seal in the same way. Jiraiya was stunned. Did Kiba know what that seal held? Did he know just what Naruto was? The blond seemed to be purring, and this threw the man for a BIG loop. Did rubbing that seal bring him erotic pleasure? WHAT ALL DID JIRAIYA NOT KNOW ABOUT HIS PUPIL?!? "I…I will always love you Naruto, my mate," Kiba spoke. Naruto smiled, and a tear came to his eye before he hugged and lovingly kissed his boyfriend

"Will you make love with me Kiba Inuzuka?" Naruto asked him.

"I would gladly accept such a gift," the brunette declared softly. "I will make love with you Naruto Uzumaki Inuzuka." OKAY, NOW JIRAIYA WAS CONFUSED! _"One of these days Naruto, you owe me a loooong explanation. I wonder if Tsunade knows."_

"Get down here you perverted frog kisser," a familiar voice hissed. Jiraiya turned, and Tsunade had on her VERY angry face. "Leave them alone!" The voice was just loud enough for the man to hear, but he couldn't turn his eyes away. Tsunade came up to him, and she sort of understood why. A weak golden light emanated from the marks of both males, and this light brought the watching pair warmth.

Naruto began pulling off the tight grey boxers that encased his lover, and Jiraiya and Tsunade were both stunned to see Kiba's size. Tsunade had seen them on tape, but in person just held a different impact. The blond graced the stiff member with a hot breath, and Kiba softly thrusted upward, trying to gain contact with something. He mewled Naruto's name, but the blond could smell very little lust. His mate was being so good for him. Kiba put his fingers under the blond's waistband, and Jiraiya was a bit on edge. Did he really want to see his student in all his glory? While he was trying to decide on what to do, the perverted white man got an eyeful. Kiba had the boxers to the blond's knees, and the pair were shocked that Naruto was bigger than him. The brunette fondled his ball sac a bit, and Naruto removed his underwear completely, leaving them both fully exposed. Naruto hugged them together very closely, and both boys closed their eyes as the embrace warmed them both to their very cores. This feeling was unmistakable: true love. Tsunade knew a long time ago, and now, Jiraiya knew just how deep his student's emotions ran. Well, as a pervert, Jiraiya was disappointed, but as a friend and teacher and father (sort of), he was impressed and proud of Naruto.

"I will always protect you," the blond stated as he rubbed the back of Kiba's head.

"I will always love you," the brunette responded before bringing their lips together softly. They opened their eyes, and Kiba laid back and bared his neck in submission. Naruto put his arms above Kiba's shoulders for support, and he licked his stepbrother's neck lovingly in acceptance of his gift before lightly grinding their now exposed members together. Kiba moaned a bit, and Naruto loved being able to care for his mate. This went on for a while, and then the blond got up and retrieved the nearing empty bottle from the nightstand. Tsume had gotten it for them for last Mating Season. Soon, the cycle would begin again. Naruto lubed up his three fingers, and he returned to kissing Kiba before inserting his first finger into the warmth of his brother. The brunette moaned when his pleasure center was poked. Naruto inserted a second finger, beginning the scissoring motion to stretch his mate out. Kiba mewled under the ministrations, and he groaned a bit when a third finger was pressed passed his ring of muscle. Naruto thoroughly stretched him for a minute, and then he drew his fingers out. He was not yet ready however to enter his mate. Kiba would be heavily pleasured before that.

The brunette smiled with his eyes closed as he laid back, waiting to be taken. Naruto began kissing his jaw bone, nibbling here and there. He worked down slowly, massaging Kiba's abdominals the whole time. Naruto took one hard nipple into his mouth, and Kiba's eyes shot open as he moaned and arched his back. "Naruto," he yelled a bit. The blond used his tongue to swirl over the pink appendage, and Kiba melted in his hands. The other bud received the same treatment, but Jiraiya wasn't writing notes. He was just watching, observing, studying his student. Naruto left small kisses all down the brunette's body until he reached his member. Jiraiya and Tsunade were now fearful to watch. Wouldn't it be gross, weird? Why did this apprehension exist? The blond lightly licked over the head, and the brunette groaned in satisfaction. Kiba moaned Naruto's name, and after a while of licking from base to tip up the shaft, the blond engulfed half of the stiff erection.

"Naruto," Kiba moaned. "I love you." The blond smiled. He had searched for love so long in his life. Now that he had found what he craved, he needed to hear it. Maybe he was addicted to love, but it was not his fault. The village had cursed him this way, but he still found a way to be happy. After a while of pleasuring Kiba, Naruto drew his mouth off, letting the chilly air nip at his stepbrother.

"Are you ready?" the blond asked as he positioned himself at Kiba's entrance. The brunette wrapped his legs around the blond's waist, and his eyes opened to lock with cerulean blue. Naruto applied a little lubricant to his shaft, and then he began lightly pressing in. Kiba moaned in pleasure, and Naruto grunted from his own pleasure as well. When he was buried to the base, Naruto lightly grabbed Kiba's shaft with his slickened hand and began pumping in a slow rhythm with his thrusts. Jiraiya and Tsunade were stunned. Both of them had experienced sexual intercourse, but nothing like this. Naruto kissed his mate lovingly, did not act on his lust, and Kyuubi wasn't controlling him like one of the original theories had been. Endless minutes passed, and Kiba began moaning more frequently. A bit of tightness resided in the blond's stomach, and he sped up his thrusting and pumping a bit, maybe doubling the pace.

"I'm getting close Naruto," Kiba eventually spoke. His blond drew out almost completely and slammed into his prostate once before going at a slightly faster rate, causing the brunette to pant and moan. "Please mate, alpha, let me cum." Naruto kissed him, and he went over the inside of Kiba's mouth once again. His pumping and thrusting had matched in rhythm, and Kiba was contributing to the thrusts as he tightened his legs. "Mmm, I'm gonna…Naruto."

"With me my mate," Naruto spoke. About three seconds later, he claimed Kiba's lips, and the brunette moaned as his insides locked down on the still thrusting and pumping blond's dick. His seed coated their stomachs and Naruto's hand, and the blond moaned Kiba's name as he finished, leaving his creamy release inside the brunette's body. "I love you Kiba."

"I love you too Naruto," the brunette replied as he hugged his blond close. Naruto wrapped the sheet over them, and the two fell asleep not long after. Jiraiya and Tsunade stood stunned as they looked at the peacefully sleeping pair, still attached might I add. True, Tsunade wasn't exactly FOR gay sex, but she wasn't against it either. She was just…confused. Jiraiya's lips were slightly parted as he stared calmly at his pupil. The Hokage was worried that he'd be angry or maybe abandon Naruto.

"I guess he finally found someone to accept him," the man finally spoke softly as he hung from the roof jutting out. "Just never thought it'd be another guy." He was smiling, and Tsunade was relieved. Jiraiya looked at his notepad, and barely anything was written on it. "Guess I'm out of material for a new book."

"If you're gonna spy, at least try not to get caught," Tsume spoke from behind them both. Tsunade was on the verge of heart attack, and Jiraiya was scared halfway to Mars. "See anything you like old man?"

"Hmm," Jiraiya began with a smile. "Ya, I see my student finally being free….Come on Tsunade. I'll just go to the baths tomorrow."

"What, can't write about my stepson's love life?" Tsume asked in fun. "I'm sure you can remember most of what you saw….Anyway, you don't hate him?" Jiraiya shook his head. "Alright, you can go." The white-haired Sannin walked off the estate in deep thought. He saw Naruto in a new light now, and the light wasn't so bad. If the blond was truly happy being with the Inuzuka boy, who was he to stand in his way, other than being the Fourth's closest friend. It wasn't ugly, it wasn't violent, and it was mutual, the three things a marriage needed, just a little different. Naruto had the ring, but it would never be allowed to be more than that; the village's hatred ran too deep. Society's scrutiny and prejudice in general ran too deep.

"Maybe I can still write a new book," Jiraiya spoke to himself before walking off to find a hotel.

**Author Notes: Aw, cute! Anyway, of course Jiraiya doesn't hate Naruto. Review please. I don't get that: why do you people put me on your story and author alert and your favorites without reviewing? I get so excited when 20 messages pop up in my email account and then three are reviews, many times only one or two.**


	4. Just Like Old Times

**Author Notes: Okay, I decided to skip right to the Chuunin Exams. Naruto got down his speed step. Remind you a bit of the Fourth? Jiraiya's still in town, and everyone's ready for the new set of challenges.**

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**Naruto:** He woke up early that morning, excitement running through his veins. Even Kyuubi woke up because of this, and he wasn't super happy about that. Kiba was lying asleep beside him, steadily and softly breathing. Naruto put his head down on the brunette's chest, listening as his head rose and fell steadily to the breathing. The clock read 6:30, so he had time to snuggle up with his mate. Kiba was however, secretly awake. He was freakin' horny too, a bit odd for right in the mornings, except…there had been no sex for five days, nothing but intense training as the Chuunin Exams drew near. The two boys were in boxers, and so his fox was vulnerable.

"Sleep well Naruto?" Kiba asked, making the blond shoot up in surprise. Cerulean, shocked eyes met brown, lustful slits.

"How long were you awake?" the blond asked.

"About ten minutes," Kiba replied. He brought a hand up to his lover's back and pulled Naruto into at first a loving kiss, but then it turned lustful. The blond was arched backward as Kiba held him. "Naru, you've been so quiet lately. I haven't seen your body in nearly a week." He smiled seductively at his fox's now steadily blushing face. Kiba was above him, his warm body so close. It felt a little strange, the position. Naruto kinda liked it, and he smiled back before grabbing Kiba's head and kissing him in heated passion. The brunette could smell fresh arousal, a missing ingredient for the passed few days. He rubbed over the seal in lust, and his blond moaned into the kiss. Kiba felt over the soft hairs just above the blond's black boxers, the little soft strands enticing him to just rub over his mate's body.

"Is there anything you want this morning my little blue-eyed fox?" Kiba asked as he held their faces close, searing breath hitting both faces, both boys on their knees, straining for contact.

"I," the boy began. "…Just don't be TOO rough with me, eh Kiba?" Naruto asked a bit breathily as his eyes glazed with lust. The brunette quickly removed his offending boxers, and he eyed Naruto's shaft evilly. He had been needing a bit of release for the passed while. Mating Season was two weeks away. They'd be in the middle of it by the real fights at the end of the Chuunin Exams. His blond got his arms down, and Kiba laid back so his fox could more easily remove his deep blue boxers. They were thrown in the corner near Akamaru's new bed.

Kiba attacked his fox almost instantly, pinning Naruto in surprise before lightly biting down on his shoulder. "Ahh, Kiba," the blond breathed. The brunette sucked hard and licked the heated flesh. "Uuuuh," Naruto breathed in a bit squeakily. Kiba bit down just a bit harder, making the blond wince before receiving what he wanted. He moaned as his dick was ground against, and he arched his hips into the touch.

"I have such an anxious little blond on my hands," Kiba spoke huskily as his hands smoothly rubbed down the blond's front. "Do you want foreplay my pet, or do you want me in you right now?"

"P-Please," Naruto kind of moaned out between heavy pants.

"What do you want my mate? Won't you tell me?" Kiba asked evilly as he ground their cocks together harder.

"Mmmmfff…get in me before I decide to just take you myself," the blond spoke threateningly. Kiba raised an eyebrow and kissed his lover to calm him down. Meanwhile, he reached for the bottle of lube. He had to let some of the liquid run down before it exited onto his fingers. Naruto spread his legs while Kiba spread the solution between his fingers.

"You ARE eager Naruto," the brunette said almost tauntingly. Naruto growled at him, his feral instincts already beginning to return. Kiba just smiled at him before pushing a finger inside a newly tightened hole. Naruto instantly melted back and moaned. Kami, the sex was getting better already. "Better?" he asked as he thrusted his finger in and out slowly and leaned over a lolling fox-boy.

"Thank you," Naruto whispered/sighed. A second finger pushed in slowly, and he winced. Kiba began scissoring the boy out, slowly stretching his internal walls as he nuzzled and then kissed his now helpless mate. It was too good. Even if Naruto wanted to stop, there was no way he could work up the nerve to ask for it. A third finger entered. "FFFffsss…" the fox hissed as he bit his lip. Kiba licked his neck in apology, but Naruto mewled in his throat for him to go on.

"You think you're about ready Naruto?" Kiba asked in all seriousness. Naruto shook his head. Perhaps the brunette was just rushing? He poked the blond's prostate, and he arched back with a yelp. Kiba smiled, but he put a leash on himself for the time being as he simply massaged the spot. Naruto began pushing himself onto the fingers, and Kiba spread him out further still.

"Mmmm, okay Kiba," Naruto spoke as he rhythmically and slowly thrusted against the working fingers. They drew out, and he groaned at the loss, but Naruto eyed the thing he wanted buried in him so much in anxiousness. Kiba applied some of the green, sea-smelling liquid to his shaft and jerked himself slowly to get an even coat. "Hurry u-uup!" the blond whined. Kiba took another five seconds to be sure, and then he lifted Naruto's ass as he massaged it. The blond put his legs on Kiba's shoulders as he mewled under the ministrations. He felt the tip at his entrance, and he groaned as the brunette began pushing in slowly but forcefully. "KIIIIIIBAAAAAA…" Naruto groaned lowly. His mate closed his eyes as he savored the tight heat. It was like his Naruto was a virgin all over again. Well, maybe not quite. He could still make it in without meeting too much resistance. It was still tight and hot though. Kiba buried himself to the hilt, and he opened his eyes to see a lolling, dazed mate beneath him.

"Wow, I didn't know I was _this_ good," Kiba said, getting the eyes of his blond to move toward him. "Good, I thought you'd dozed off." Naruto just stared at him as he panted. With Kiba holding the blond while sitting up on his knees, he felt so dominant. He spanked his fox lightly, and Naruto yelped. He didn't seem angry though. Another not too rough strike hit him, and Kiba drooled as precum exited the blond's shaft. "This'll be quick."

"Hurry up already," Naruto told him, his eyes showing some of that animalistic want his connection to Kyuubi had given him. Kiba squeezed his butt, getting a firm grip before drawing halfway out and slamming back in, hitting his mate's prostate perfectly from instinct. "Kiba…nnnngh yes."

"What do you want Naru-Chan? Do you want me to fuck you nice and hard til your ass breaks? Do you want to be pounded into this bed until we're both howling to the world?"

"Fuck me already!" Naruto yelled. He was on his elbows staring in heated passion into the lustful eyes of his stepbrother. Movement answered, and the storm began. This was what the two had needed for so long, but something managed to pop into the blond's lust and pleasure-filled brain. The sex got better if they waited. He could only imagine what would happen if they stored up hormones for two weeks, stayed celibate, and then let it all go the first night of Mating Season. THAT was something to look forward to. Kiba began jerking him with the lubed hand, and Naruto howled like his fox instincts told him to.

The thrusting became rougher, and Naruto and Kiba were stuck in the storm of passion and pleasure. It became faster and faster, and Naruto felt himself spring back off the bed a little after each snap of their hips. "Kiba, Mate, I need you!"

"NA-RU-TOOOOOO!" Kiba yelled. Naruto's insides locked down at last, and he howled loudly as his thick, white seed shot onto his face and the sheets behind him. His seed kept coming for a while more, leaving his face dripping with semen. Kiba growled ferally as he released all his sexual tension and seed inside his stepbrother. "Oh-h-h-h yesssss," Kiba spoke as he kept thrusting through the afterglow. Extra seed flowed out of the blond fox's tight hole, and the brunette caught himself on his arms after falling forward. "Did I (pant pant) hurt you Naruto?" he asked with a partial smile on. The blond shook his head. "Good. Now, I guess we need to go shower. Your face is a mess."

"Hell no. I'm not done with you yet," Naruto panted. Kiba stopped. Was he seriously up for another round so quick? "Pull outta me." The brunette did as he was told, and he decided to lick his mate's face off before sharing his seed in a kiss. "Before we shower, I'm gonna suck you off like you've never known before." Kiba became interested in such a claim.

"Wanna make it a contest?" he asked, both boys become hard again by the second.

"Sure, whoever cums first has to do all the laundry since Hana's away," Naruto spoke. Kiba became frightened. He'd rather not handle his mother's drawers, but he'd been sucked off by Naruto before. He could so make the little fox lose it first. After all, Naruto had said Kiba was the better at this particular skill.

"You're on," Kiba spoke. Naruto pinned him this time, because the only other time they'd done this, he was underneath Kiba. "I'll so make you lose it first." Naruto smirked before turning so that his shaft hung right above Kiba's mouth.

"Go ahead and try Kiba," the blond spoke before happily engulfing his mate. Kiba moaned and thrusted up, but then he remembered this was a competition. He grabbed hold of the backs of Naruto's hips and lifted himself to swallow the blond all the way to his base too. Naruto kneeled lower, setting Kiba on the bed as he cupped and fondled his mate's sack in his hand. Kiba groaned, putting more pleasure on his mate, and he began working on Naruto's sac too so as to not be outdone. The blond moaned and thrusted into his mate's mouth. Admittedly, Kiba was so much better at this, and that throat was so trained and freaking hot. _"Heh, you're so easy Naruto,"_ Kiba thought as he felt the blond's balls pulling themselves closer to his body. The fox felt himself starting to lose it, but he had developed a new weapon for this, and Kiba was unprepared as vibrations and pleasure the likes of which he'd never known came to assault his manhood in a storm of horrendous pleasure.

"_Good thing I know how to use my chakra,"_ Naruto spoke in his mind. Kiba's legs were bending and twisting, and he thrusted into the blond's throat before his hips were held down. Kiba felt himself losing it, and so he went deeper, trying desperately to get his mate over that edge before his mind lost it. The blond went back out to the head and adjusted his buzzing chakra before licking over it. Kiba moaned very loudly. He was so close, but Naruto was following fast. The blond engulfed the whole thing, and Kiba's body shook as he moaned. Naruto knew he won, and he brought his head up and licked over the head, pulling Kiba off the cliff side at last.

"MMMMMMMGH!!!" the brunette yelled around Naruto's shaft. The blond smiled as the salty liquid poured into his mouth. There was a lot more than usual, and he thrusted into the wet heat of his brother before losing it and making Kiba drink him dry.

"Fuuuck!" Kiba groaned in disappointment at how he'd now have to do the laundry. He had a little bit of seed dribbling out the right side of his mouth. "Nice new technique Naruto. You win." The blond smiled before kissing, and effectively dumping half of his mate's seed into Kiba. They kissed lustily before finally winding down. Tsume barged in, and she had the two in the shower cleaning themselves off in no time flat.

"No sons of mine are gonna be late for the Chuunin Exams," she claimed sternly. "Eat your breakfast, and then get going with all your supplies for the Forest of Death." Naruto and Kiba sprang out the door like lightning. "And now I wait."

Naruto and Kiba raced through the streets to the building set for the written part of the exam. This time would be so much less stressful. Sakura would know most of the answers anyway, and the blond now had a secret weapon up his sleeve, Kyuubi. He would obviously know way more about secret codes and angular measurements than the blond, and he remembered what Ibiki had said before about the final question being a double bluff. They spotted Sakura walking in, and Naruto and Kiba gave each other one last smile before parting ways.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto spoke with a smile as he approached the girl. "This time, we'll both make Chuunin." His confidence was a bit of a relief to the girl.

"Hey, do you need help reviewing stuff that'll be on the test?" Sakura asked. The blond shook his head. "What? Since when are you a know-it-all?"

"**I'm** not, but I have someone who is," Naruto spoke mischievously.

"How are you gonna get the answers from me? They have those guards watching, and we didn't prepare anything," Sakura explained.

"I'm not worried about you, and I have a foolproof way of getting the answers from a second source without getting caught," Naruto claimed. Sakura looked stumped. "Here's a hint: it's not you."

"Kyu…?!" Sakura almost exclaimed before the blond covered her mouth. A ninja of the grass village was looking at the two, but Naruto's stare freaked him out (thank you Kyuubi). Naruto nodded. "Way to use that brain of yours Naruto." The blond smiled mischievously and blushed.

"Alright you little kids, I have a prearranged seating chart, no exceptions!" the familiar sour and stoic Ibiki Morino spoke loudly as he entered the room near the board. About thirty watcher ninja entered and took their seats around the perimeter of the room. Ibiki sat Naruto and Sakura nearly on opposite sides of the room, not that it mattered. "Okay, first, I'm your proctor: Ibiki Morino. I'm not here to be nice or to help you with this test. I'm here to watch for signs of cheating." The rookies all went wide-eyed. "Oh yes, the thirty-one of us are keeping a sharp eye out for even the slightest sign of cheating. The test is ten questions, and the passing of any one team will depend on a combined score. Each question is worth one point out of a possible ten. Note: anyone caught cheating will be written down by one of the examiners. Each penalty is two points. I should bring it to your attention, that if a single squad member gets a zero, the entire squad fails!" Fear was heavy in the air, and Naruto smiled. The man had talent. "Once any one examinee is caught five times, you and your team will be escorted out of this room. Not a single word is to be spoken unless use of the restroom is necessary. The test will begin as soon as each person has a paper." Naruto could hear several gulps. He was one of those gulpers last year. It felt funny looking back.

"_Good luck Naruto,"_ Sakura thought in her mind.

"_See ya in about an hour Sakura-Chan,"_ the blond also thought to himself.

"_Good luck my little fox,"_ Kiba thought to himself as he smiled at the back of his mate's head from two rows back and one seat to the left. Naruto wasn't nervous at all, and Ibiki thought back to when that kid almost had a nervous breakdown on the last written exam. Naruto stared at the first question, a secret code much like the first exam, with a smile.

"_**Simple enough,"**_ Kyuubi told him. _**"Sunset Meeting: Eastern Hall 3 P.M."**_ The blond wrote down his words exactly. _**"The next line is more cryptic…ah, follow the red trail, brick to crag along the path. Tiles of moss and gore, the sentinels stand watch over the golden needle. The answer is historical. All of this refers to a battle message back from the Second Great Ninja War. Write down 'The Third Explosives Division, Genma.'"**_ Now that Naruto looked at it, it made sense when he looked at both the code and the answer. Sakura had gotten it, just a bit slower. Until she got "golden needle," from the third, seventh, and tenth lines, she couldn't make the reference. Most of the others had skipped this, including Kiba, but he got down the angular kunai and shuriken throw question easily.

"_**Oh come on Naruto. This one's easy."**_ The blond looked at it. _"If the tree is fifty meters tall, and you throw both a shuriken and a kunai from the top at a twenty degree, descending slope, how far will each travel if the kunai weighs .76kg and the shuriken weighs .23kg with no wind or other outside factors affecting the flight?"_ Wait, he knew the equation for the straight throw, but he didn't know how to plug in the 20% downgrade. _**"Plug that in for K, and your answer is Kunai: 576m, Shuriken: 493m."**_

"_He's flying through this,"_ Ibiki thought to himself when he realized Naruto was on the eighth question with barely a third of the time elapsed.

"_**Now, assuming the sharp object is a kunai, you would use your ninja wire and twenty paper bombs to…"**_

"_Construct a pit trap triggered by the movement of two meters of the ninja wire using Owasaki's pentagonal star as a guide,"_ Naruto finished for him. Kyuubi smiled. It was true, not all blonds were THAT stupid. _"Okay, now this I've never seen before."_

"_**Hmm, 'examine this ninja's profile and discern the following information: blood type, elemental affiliation(2), likely country of origin, age, and skill level based on the five main criteria. Going by his skin color, eye color, hair length, and his chakra affiliation, go type B negative. His chakra going by the information alone would be water and wind, but can you see the hint in the picture?"**_ Naruto examined it closely, but to no avail. _**"What he's carrying, oil in the leather skin. Fire, Wind, and Water. Now, the country could be one of three. I'd go with the Fire County simply since it is one of the big shinobi nations. His age, not so easy. He died his hair silver, but going by the skin, early thirties. If you go by the information AND the chakra manipulation ability, place his ninjutsu at nine, genjutsu at four, taijutsu at seven, weapons mastery at three, and chakra strength at ten. Ooo, this last one is fun. Run your chakra over the blank space. It's another code, but using ink which activates with strong enough chakra."**_

The blond held the paper between his two hands, gaining stares from a few of the other students. When they realized what he was doing, every person's name was written down, and two kunai flew into the air, crashing into the tests of two different genin.

"Squads twelve and thirty-one: failed," Ibiki spoke loudly. There was opposition by the two unfortunate ninja and their teams, but they were escorted out. About three seconds later, another student got the surprise of a kunai in his test. "Squad three: failed." Naruto meanwhile had solved the riddle and turned his paper over. Everyone was surprised, and a few became disappointed because they could no longer collect information off of him. "Done…little boy?" Ibiki asked after walking up to him. Naruto nodded with a smile. "Don't be cheeky," he warned after picking up the blond's test. His expression didn't change, but Ibiki was shocked. Every answer was a bull's eye. He placed it back face down and went back to his desk with the same stoic expression as the blond put his head down to rest and think about Kiba, and two weeks from now.

"_No, bad brain,"_ he thought after a few erotic pictures came into existence. Naruto quelled his thoughts, and Kyuubi went back to sleep knowing Naruto could handle the rest. Naruto had nearly dosed off when the kid next to him got busted for the apparent fifth time, picking up his paper stealthily no less.

"Squad twenty-two, epic fail," Ibiki announced with a laugh. The kid was staring into his own paper in the middle of writing down information. He wasn't even looking at the blond's paper. "You thought you'd get away with THAT? You've got a lot to learn." He put down his paper and was escorted out of the room along with two pissed off teammates. When five minutes remained, Ibiki stood up to deliver the "good news." "Alright, I see we've managed to weed out a good lot of weaklings, but now comes the part where I show you a sliver of mercy. There is an eleventh, bonus question." Many gasps and shifting heads spread throughout the group. "You can opt TO or to NOT answer it. If you choose not to answer it, your entire squad fails this year and will be allowed to retake the exam next year. Note: if you choose to take up this question and answer incorrectly, your team will fail and be forever barred from taking the Chuunin Exams again. You'll remain a Genin for the rest of your ninja careers."

"THAT'S INSANE! You can't make us choose something like that!" one boy protested. "Either way, we fail."

"Not if you answer correctly. Only one squad member HAS to know the answer," Ibiki replied. The boy sat down in fear. "If you don't want to take part in this question because of the risks, I understand. We will escort you out; just raise your hands." A few tense moments went by, and the boy who had originally protested raised his hand.

"I'm sorry Momo, Usagi. I just risk you like this," he claimed as he cried.

"Squad twenty: fail," Ibiki announced. Several other hands went up. "Squads fourteen, eighteen, twenty-seven, twenty-nine, thirty, twenty-two, twenty-four, and twenty-five: failed." After Naruto was sure no other teams were going to be chicken enough to quit, he chose to speak the answer Ibiki explained.

"To do the mission, or wait for someone else to do it," he began. Everyone turned to him. "You have a choice: run away to save your butts for another day and risk another squad, or use teamwork and knowledge of the situation to make the mission a success yourself. It's a double bluff. Either path is a risk at failure. The only factor, was that one path was a 100% chance at failure. You don't aimlessly risk your comrades' lives. That's why you never work alone. Even if the risk of failure is reduced to just ninety-percent, you proceed with your team with caution. Discretion in decision making is a key aspect in a good squad leader, a quality necessary of a Chuunin." Ibiki just stared at him, expression unchanging for the longest time. Confidence seemed to spread through everyone, and the watcher ninja all nodded.

"Thanks to this loudmouth of a Genin, you have all passed the first part of the Chuunin Exams," Ibiki announced with a small smile. "By the way, the point of this test was to see your skills at safely and secretly gathering information. If you were caught, you needed to sharpen your skills at stealth. If you were caught five times, you were far too weak to survive as a Chuunin. There were eight fully-fledged Chuunin in this room who knew the answers." The eight raised their hands. "The final part of that test was passed for all of you by Naruto Uzumaki. Although I'm quite sure only a few if any of you were thinking of your squads when you made the decision to stay. If you are cowardly and run, you do not deserve to call yourself a ninja, but if you foolishly risk lives, you're even worse. A double bluff, as he stated perfectly. In reality, it was unnecessary to answer a single question to pass, but rather for us to see how easily you'd fail. Anyway, congratulations." His soft smile gave relief to everyone in the room, except Naruto who had already been perfectly calm. "You may all wait for your proctor in the next room." Everyone got up to leave. "A word, Mr. Uzumaki?" Naruto, Sakura, and Kiba froze. Kiba and Sakura got carried by the crowd though.

"Ya Ibiki-Sensei?" Naruto asked curiously with his hands in his pockets.

"You may have just put many squads at risk. What were you thinking by divulging my speech?" he asked almost angrily. "Only if you are one-hundred percent confident should you go through with a mission."

"I could smell no more hesitation," the blond boy spoke cryptically. "There was fear, but no hesitation." He began walking out towards the hallway.

"By the way, congratulations. Your information gathering was top notch. I must ask: how'd you get passed all of us without getting noticed once?" he asked with a straight face.

"There's no way you can look for it, because it was a mental link," Naruto explained. Ibiki was confused. The chakra needed for such a connection would have been easily detectable. "I didn't take the answers from anyone else's test sheet. I got them from what's inside me." Ibiki's eyes went wide. Naruto still smiled lightly though. "It's just an advantage I didn't know I had before."

"Interesting," the man stated. "Well, I knew something had to be up when you set the time record. Only the Chuunin were faster, and that's because they knew the exact answers beforehand." Naruto just smiled as he went and joined up with the others. Sakura and Kiba met him out in the hall.

"Something happen Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Ibiki-Sensei just wondered how I finished so fast and got a perfect score," the blond told them.

"Naruto, what's with that bruise on the back of your shoulder?" Sakura asked as she opened the top of his jacket. The blond blushed, and so did Kiba. "Who did that to you?" she asked in deep concern. "It looks like you got hit with a pipe or something."

"Sakura, it's called a hickey," Naruto told her with a deeper crimson blush. Sakura nearly fainted.

"I'm an idiot," she spoke before slapping her palm to her forehead. "Oh, we should get in there before Anko-Sensei comes." They went in just in time as the woman made her entrance through a window, effectively shattering it.

"Alright kiddies, playtime's over," she spoke with an empty dango stick in her hand. "I'm Anko Mitarashi, your proctor for the next part of the Chuunin Exams." A few "aaah's" went throughout her crowd before she continued. "You're all gonna follow me to the testing sight. You better be quick too. I'm not gonna wait up for you all day." With that, she was blurring over the rooftops, Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura following the closest behind. "How's it been Naruto, _Kiiiba?_" the woman asked a bit weirdly. Anko knew of their relationship, but Naruto and Kiba didn't know she knew. "This'll be waaay easier this year since you know the forest and what you're up against."

"Last time I was in that forest though," Naruto began. "That was when Orochimaru put that Curse Mark on Sasuke." Anko instantly withdrew into herself. She had once served and revered that man.

"Don't worry," Anko told them calmly. "Orochimaru won't be making a guest appearance this time. He has no reason to move, and our spies haven't picked up anything suggesting he'll move on Konoha again. The forest is much safer this time, which means you'll have a way easier time." A bit ahead, Naruto could see the huge fence, the circular perimeter of the number 44th battle training zone: The Forest of Death.

"Same rules as last time Anko-Sensei?" Naruto asked. The woman smiled and nodded.

In another thirty seconds, the rest had caught up for the most part, and the stragglers arrived ten seconds into Anko's speech. "Alright you maggots, this is the second part of the Chuunin Exam. Behind me is the 44th Battle Training Zone used by the Jounin for advanced training. It' nicknamed, the Forest of Death." As if to prove her point, a gigantic snake, summoned by her earlier, swallowed a bird in the top of a tree and slithered back down and around the trunk. All the rookies, and even a few of the second-timers got freaked by this. "In this forest are innumerable horrors of every shape, size, number, and intensity. Your job is to get two of these scrolls, one of which will be given to each team, to the central tower in your designated room by this time tomorrow. The room which you need to go to will be told to you when you receive your scroll. Opening any of the scrolls without the complimentary, inside or outside the tower will, automatically fail you. Now, squads line up in numerical order, and after you have received your scroll, go to the designated entrance matching your squad number."

Naruto scanned the other teams calmly to get a look at his competition. The grass ninja seemed the strangest, and probably the most deadly. It would be best to avoid them. Second on his list of people to avoid was the third team of the Hidden Rain Village. Gaara and his siblings weren't here this year. Had they become Chuunin and not told him? There were two teams from Suna, and the other eight were of the Hidden Leaf Village. Two had been failed previously. Sakura and Naruto entered the tent. Anko wished them good luck and winked at Naruto before handing him a Heaven Scroll.

The two went to gate seven, and after another twenty minutes, Anko jumped to the top of the fence and delivered a message. "And one more thing before you take the plunge: just don't die!" she said seriously before the gates opened. Sakura and Naruto rushed in, and all the teams were, more or less, safely inside. "Good luck Naruto," the woman spoke quietly to herself.

"He'll be fine," a lazing Shikamaru spoke as he raised and lowered the heel of his foot against his other raised knee. He was laying back staring at the clouds as usual. "If he survived Orochimaru twice, he'll be fine."

Naruto and Sakura had hit an early obstacle, one that sent shivers up the girl's spine. "S-S-S-S-Spiderrrrs," she spoke as she shivered in disgust. "I hate spiders. I hate bugs in general."

"You think they're venomous?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded. "As long as we don't touch the webbing, they shouldn't have a reason to disturb us." An enormous web complex stood before them, and black and yellow spiders twice the size of a human hung high above them, motionless, but watchful. Naruto carefully stepped between the thick, and no doubt powerfully sticky strands of web, making sure not to make even the slightest contact. Sakura was more on edge, but her slimmer frame made it easier to weave through. That worked up until, so close, her hair got caught. "Sakura!" Naruto whispered harshly. "Don't move a muscle. I'll just cut it."

"LIKE HELL YOU'RE CUTTING MY HAIR!" the girl stammered, moving her body violently. Naruto looked up, and to his horrors, the beasts were coming in fast. "AAAAAAAAAAH!" the girl screamed (the super girly, high-pitched one). Naruto used a Kunai and sliced off the girl's hair as close to the web as he could, and he took her in his arms before using his new technique, the flash step, just in time. They got away from the massive army of spiders, but Sakura was clinging to the boy in fear and shock. "N-Naruto?"

"You alright Sakura?" he asked her. She grunted affirmatively before he set her down of her feet. "We have to be careful. If either of us had been bitten, it could have been the end." Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at the enormous hole behind the blond. Naruto turned, and the biggest damn spider he'd ever seen was sticking its legs out of the enormous hole. It had to be thirty feet wide for Hell's sake! This spider's coloring was brighter, but it was the same black and yellow striping. "Something tells me we need to kill it before it calls for help," Naruto spoke a bit in fear. Sakura nodded, and they began using their synchronization training with Kakashi to their advantage.

The enormous bug roared before sweeping a leg with sharp spikes on it at the two. Sakura and Naruto dodged it effectively, and Sakura cracked the exoskeleton at the joint, causing the spider to shriek in agony. It climbed out completely and started chasing her down faster than one would think possible. "Naruto! Help!" the girl screamed. The fangs dripped with venom and saliva, and the girl was petrified with fear.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled before a mass of thirty clones delivered a punishing kick to the beast's head. Sakura took this chance and ran under the spider, preparing a chakra-focused punch which she let lose right where the eight legs came together. The giant black and yellow beast was launched into the branch above, but Sakura felt like she might have sprained something.

"Damn," she spoke as she held her arm and bit her lip. Naruto's clones let loose with punches, kicks, and a Rasengan strike finally killed the miserable creature.

"You alright Sakura?" Naruto asked her. The girl shook her head as she winced. Her right arm was becoming red and swollen. "Where does it hurt the most?" Sakura a year ago never would have done this, but with Naruto's help, she removed her top and pointed to where the pain radiated from. Naruto placed his hand over the spot, and Kyuubi instantly told him the problem.

"_**She cracked a rib and tore some of the muscle from the force,"**_ the fox spoke. _**"I can deal with most of the damage, but she needs to rest a bit."**_ Sakura's eyes widened when she felt chakra begin flowing into her.

"Naruto?" she asked fearfully. Sakura felt vulnerable only wearing her bra and her skirt. If another ninja came now, oh the humiliation. "What are you?"

"I don't know healing jutsu, but Kyuubi's chakra should help a lot," the blond claimed. Sakura could feel the swelling going down, but the pain wasn't much better. "He says you cracked a rib from the force, so you need to rest for a while." Naruto lifted his hand off, and he helped Sakura back into her red top.

"Th-thanks Naruto," she spoke a bit shyly. The blond really was so nice to her, and he wasn't a pervert or a complete idiot. Sure, he could be loud and obnoxious, but he really was a true friend. _"No, he's got Kiba,"_ she thought to herself. Sakura though really wished she could tell the blond her feelings. "Try and find a source of clean water, and maybe shelter. Maybe just leave a clone with me in case something happens."

"Not here though," Naruto spoke. He could hear the rest of the spider brood coming. He helped Sakura up and then carried her with his flash step to a safer area. "I'll leave you with three clones. One can be instantly dispelled so that I can come to your aid, and the others can fight off opponents as long as possible." With that, the blond left Sakura and three clones in the nook of a tree which was relatively hidden from sight. In addition, he sent out twenty other clones to search for opposing teams possibly in possession of an Earth Scroll.

"Fresh water…" the blond thought to himself. "There should be a river northwest of here if my memory's still good." He used his flash step, and sure enough, he found the river, and an encampment nearby. Upon distant inspection, he felt the familiar chakra signatures of team Gai. Naruto knelt down and filled two skins with fresh water which could be boiled if the need presented itself. Something moved in the brush behind him, but he didn't give an initial reaction. His hands were close enough to do a Shadow Clone Jutsu if the need presented.

Sure enough, a Grass ninja popped out with a water jutsu in the making. Naruto created five shadow clones before blurring behind the other male. "How did you," BOOM! "Aaah, oof, uh, uuuuuh." He tumbled on the ground a bit before stopping, his red hair and silverfish blue eyes showing his anger. "Damn, thought I had you." Naruto's clones each pinned one of his arms and legs, and the real Naruto started searching through his stuff. "Hey, no fair!" the boy exclaimed. Funny, Naruto pegged him to be dangerous before. Awesomeness! Leaf ninja 1, Grass ninja 0. Naruto had the Earth Scroll he needed.

"I can't just have you ambushing my teammate and I, sooo," the blond began before putting his hand on the boy's forehead.

"What, what are you doing?" the boy asked in fear as he felt a weird chakra enter his body. Everything began swirling, and then he saw blood, lots of blood, his comrades! "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed as he lost consciousness to Kyuubi's genjutsu. Naruto left him by the river as he blurred back to Sakura.

"Back already Naruto?" she asked. The blond smiled as he offered her a drink. "Boil it first. The river here isn't the safest to drink." Naruto sighed, but he did have the supplies to make a small fire out on the tree limb. He built it over wet moss so as to not start and inferno, and he placed the pot of water over it before going back to do another healing session with Sakura. She willingly got out of her top, feeling safe with Naruto around and in the shelter of the tree. The warmth of Kyuubi's chakra brought her comfort and peace of mind. Sakura felt different when she was around Naruto. Last year, she only had eyes for Sasuke, but now, well, he just made her feel safe.

"Kyuubi says another hour of rest and you'll be back in tip-top shape," Naruto spoke happily. "AAaand, lookie what I found," he told her as he pulled out the Earth Scroll. Sakura's eyes widened.

"How?" she asked in surprise.

"A Grass ninja tried to ambush me. I put him under a genjutsu and left him by the river. He won't be able to follow me here though. I went using flash step," Naruto explained. "So basically, we just have to wait until tomorrow and reach the tower."

"You're amazing Naruto," Sakura stated excitedly as she hugged the blond boy. Naruto blushed.

"Thanks, but really, it was too easy. Get some rest Sakura," he told her before getting out a sleeping bag. Naruto had cooled the water back down, and Sakura took a long swig from it before lying down to sleep. Naruto stayed up to watch for most of the night, but he eventually lied down, legs toward the entrance of the nook.

Kiba smelled his mate close by, but he was helping to set up camp. Hinata and Shino had set up the same trap as they used the previous year, slugs which drained the chakra of people they landed on. If they were ambushed, the slugs would hinder their enemies helpless so that they could take the scroll if it was the one they needed. Five hours into their sleep, the enemies came as predicted, their screams waking up the Leaf ninja.

"Works every time," Shino claimed as he quickly dressed. "Rain ninja, and they have the Heaven Scroll. Looks like this year will be a snap." He procured the scroll from his deceased opponents before the group went back to sleep.

**The Next Day:** Sakura woke up feeling refreshed, but Naruto was nowhere in sight. She felt strange inside, wanting to really tell him how she felt, but feeling guilty since he was so strongly in love with Kiba. She put her top on and rolled up the sleeping back before walking through the veil of vines. She tripped on something only to fall forward onto her crush, waking him up in surprise as he noticed the distance between their faces.

"S-Sakura…are you okay?" the blond asked. The girl got up on her hands a bit, but she decided to tell the blond now instead of holding it back.

"Naruto, I don't know how else to say it, but you make me feel strange," the girl spoke as she sat back on her legs and held one arm. Naruto sat up and got on a curious look. "You're always so cheery; you're funny, goofy, and smart when you want to be." He huffed at that statement, and Sakura giggled. "You've grown up a bit Naruto, and I admire that."

"Thanks Sakura," Naruto told her with a genuine ear-to ear grin as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"But…it's more than that," the girl spoke as she became a bit gloomier. Naruto looked concerned.

"How do you mean?"

"I-I think…I've fallen in love with you Naruto," the girl finally got out. The boy was stuck in his own mindscape. "You make me feel safe when you're around, you're not perverted like Master Jiraiya, and you, you just make me feel so different when you're around. You must hate me for this. I know you love Kiba, but I-I still." Naruto hugged her, not an intimate hug, but a reassuring one. "I'm so sorry Naruto."

"Sakura, I, don't feel that way Sakura," the blond boy told her as she sobbed. "Loving someone isn't wrong." He really was unsure of himself. Kiba said he wouldn't hate him for falling in love with a girl who'd willingly love him back, but he felt like he'd be betraying his mate if he opened his heart to Sakura, something he had wanted to do since a long time back. "Sakura, it is never wrong to love someone else."

"But what about Kiba?" she asked. "You love him don't you?" Her sniffling had died for the most part.

"Yes, I love him," Naruto replied calmly.

"Do you love me?" the girl asked. Naruto was stuck between a mountain and the edge of the world. He couldn't answer her without hurting at least one of three people: Kiba, her, and himself.

"I-I don't know Sakura," Naruto spoke quietly. Not know? How could he not know? Sakura felt like she'd been stabbed, but it didn't hurt as much because she expected him to say no. "I admired you when I was younger, thought you were pretty, smart, but you ridiculed me so often, I just kinda gave up on having you as a girlfriend. Then I met Kiba, and things just changed. Look, now's not the time to talk about this. After we're released to train for the third part of the examination okay?" he asked. Sakura nodded before wiping away the rest of her tears. They packed up camp and headed for the central tower.

Naruto had to beat up one giant serpent and a rogue monkey twice his size before the clearing came in sight, but the two had made it to the home stretch. An unforeseen obstacle stood in the way though, battling ninja, a lot of them, no doubt for the scrolls. "I can get us both through," Naruto spoke. Sakura silently got into his arms, and he flash stepped the farthest he had ever gone, leaving him panting outside the door labeled with a large black seven. "Get inside before we're noticed." Sakura nodded and opened the door into a dimly lit room, similar to the dueling room last year.

"Okay, open both of the scrolls and toss them over there," Sakura told the blond. Naruto undid both the seals, and the white smoke started rising almost instantly. Out popped Kakashi of course.

"I knew you two wouldn't let me down," the man claimed. "You two don't look too badly roughed up. How'd it go?" Both of them blushed.

"Um, pretty uneventful except for the giant spiders' nest," Naruto eventually got out.

"Ah, I remember, the yellow and black ones or the blue and red?" the white-haired man asked.

"The black and yellow," Sakura answered.

"Ya, the blue and red ones would have been the worse of the two."

"Did you fight the big boss?" Naruto asked hysterically.

"No, did you?"

"Yes," Sakura stated. She shivered from the memory. "So, are there going to be preliminaries this year or just the main fight up at the stadium?"

"It depends on who all makes it by the time limit," Kakashi stated. "I've gotta go in case someone else makes it, but once again, congratz on making it this far. I can't wait to see you both make Chuunin."

Naruto and Sakura went to the central chamber and met up with Team Gai. Unbelievably, the Grass ninja, including the one to which he gave a humiliating defeat, stood there as well. Tsunade supervised them so that there would be no foul play. "I knew you two would be fine," the Hokage spoke up to the two. Naruto smiled, and Lee greeted Sakura in his overly dramatic way yet again.

"So Neji, ready to get beaten again?" Naruto asked. The Hyuuga smirked at the obvious joke.

"It won't be so easy this time," he claimed. "I won't fall for the Shadow Clone trick again." Naruto blurred behind him and held a kunai to his neck instantly. Neji was stunned with wide eyes.

"You're not the only one with new weapons in his arsenal," Naruto told him before pulling his kunai away and walking back over to Sakura.

"What was that about?" Ten Ten asked. Lee just shrugged his shoulders. "He's becoming more and more like Sasuke was."

"No," Neji stated flatly. "He's just being as show-offy as he used to be. Naruto just wanted to tweak my nerves, and I must admit, it worked." Kiba, Hinata, and Shino all walked in panting and bruised.

"Hey, you made it Kiba," Naruto stated happily as he patted the boy on his back. "Who did this to you guys? Do I need to be worried?"

"Three giant snakes, and two different teams of Rain ninja," Shino stated as he leaned on the rail. "We hit the mother load on trouble. I see you two made it with few problems." Naruto kinda just looked away distantly, a bit of an odd behavior.

Ino and Chouji walked in not long after, the girl having a few cuts which Sakura went to tend to, and the big guy bruised up and lightly munching on chips, not his usual stuffing the face munching.

About twenty more minutes passed, and Tsunade announced that the time limit was up. "It would appear there is no need for a preliminary set of matches this time," she spoke. "You all have one month to hone your skills, and then you will battle against each other, friends, rivals, foreigners…and you will be judged as to whether or not you meet the satisfactory needs of a Chuunin from your village. The more rounds you win, the more chances you have to show your skills to the elders and the judges. It is possible for many of you to become Chuunin, but it is also possible that none of you will become Chuunin. Keep this in mind as you train for the next month. An ANBU captain will escort each team out of the forest. Good luck to all of you."

**Author Notes: A few of you wanted a jealousy issue or a second romance thing, so I gave it to you. Where will this Sakura issue take us? I don't know yet. I will try to update within the next week. I have midterms though, so no guarantees.**


	5. Exchange of Gifts

**Author Notes: this is directly at the end of the previous chapter.**

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**Naruto:** He and Sakura were escorted out of the forest by Kakashi, neither of the two speaking a word. Kakashi was curious, but he didn't pry for information. Instead, he kept reading his Icha Icha book. "Alright, we're here," the man spoke two hours later. They happily exited from the creepy forest, and Naruto took one final glance back to see a spider getting picked up by an enormous bird. _"Sweet revenge,"_ he thought to himself. Kakashi left them to their devices, and Naruto and Sakura went to Ichiraku's to talk.

"Look, Naruto, I shouldn't have asked," the girl instantly started. "You've already got Kiba, so I won't ask you if you love me too."

"Sakura, sit," Naruto spoke with a sigh. He took off his ring. "Read this before I explain my position. Sakura was in tears by the end of the inscription. She hugged the blond as he replaced his ring on his left hand, and then he hugged her reassuringly.

"What does it mean?" she asked, tears still welled in her eyes.

"It means, he promises not to hate me if I find a girl who I truly love who loves me in return," Naruto spoke, voice unwavering and calm.

"So does that" she began. Naruto put one finger over her lips.

"IF I find someone I love," Naruto repeated, emphasizing "if." "Sakura, I have mixed feelings for you. You're a friend, a comrade, a teammate, but I don't think I feel for you as strongly as you do for me." The girl started twisting up in sorrow once more. "Trust me, I'm, really actually glad someone else can love me for who I am and see passed Kyuubi, but, I need time to think. Are you mad at me?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I just, I knew it would hurt. I just need to calm down," she claimed as she wiped away her tears. "If your feelings change, will you tell me? We don't have to have sex or be anything like you are with Kiba, but I want to be near you Naruto."

"I'll…think about it…okay Sakura?" Naruto asked her as he comfortingly stroked her hair. The pink-haired girl nodded and gave him a light smile before leaving the ramen stand to go have a lesson with Tsunade.

"I-I should have told him after Sasuke left, and I shouldn't have laughed at him," the girl told herself in hate. "I can't be Kiba…but I love him." She continued her walk to the Hokage mansion and removed all traces of sorrow before going to see her sensei.

Naruto on the other hand was eating a bowl of miso when Kiba dropped by. "Hey Sparky," he said toward the Inuzuka who gave him a weird look.

"Since when do you call me Sparky?" he asked. Naruto just gave a toothy, ear to ear grin. "So, things went pretty easily for you in the forest?"

"Well, yes and no," Naruto started out. "Look, some of it's a bit personal, so can we talk at home?" Kiba looked concerned, but he was happy to listen to the blond. He kissed his mate lovingly, no tongue, not even cheek rubs, and Ayame smiled. She learned and broke it to Teuchi, who first just gave a serious look and then smiled. Naruto nuzzled him with a smile before finishing and paying the bill.

"Only one bowl?" Kiba asked. "Trying to slim down?" he asked jokingly, patting his mate's muscled abdomen.

"I kinda just need to get this off my chest," Naruto explained. They were silent until they got home, and the whole place was deserted save for Akamaru. "Come sit," he said as he pat a spot next to him on the couch. Kiba now looked very concerned. "Kiba, you remember the promise you wrote on the inside of this ring?" The Inuzuka's eyes widened, and he became a bit nervous.

"Yeaah," he spoke. Naruto had taken it off and was inspecting it as the band was twisted between his fingers.

"Kiba, I'm going to be completely honest with you. Sakura told me she loves me," Naruto spoke calmly and with the same expressionless face. Kiba looked down into his lap, unsure of what to say. Did this mean their relationship had come to a close, so soon?

"What did you say?" he asked calmly, even though nervousness radiated off of his body.

"I told her I had mixed feelings, and that originally, I was crushing on her." Kiba became disheartened. "But then I explained how I lost hope of her ever loving me because of how much she used to make fun of and ridiculed me. Then how I met you, and I had kinda abandoned the notion." Kiba seemed to be happier, but he didn't know quite what his fox is saying. "Are you angry with me?"

"Naruto, I promised I will always love you, and that you are free to pursue any woman who you think will truly love you back," Kiba began as he took his mate's chin in his hand. Their eyes had locked, both calm, neither set showing a sign of anger. "And that I will be patiently waiting for you if the relationship fails. I will love you for all time, and finding a woman who can love you is no betrayal. Now, do you think you might"

"No, but I needed to talk to you about it," Naruto ended with a small smile. "Sakura is a good friend, but she had her chance, not that I'd be so sadistic. I don't love her on any level that can hold a candle to you, my mate." He brought their lips together, and their marks glowed brightly of that golden light from the first night. Their ethereal selves got just the tiniest bit closer to each other, and once again, every canine in Konoha began howling once more. This time was far shorter, and the two remained conscious through the moment. Somewhere else on the compound, Tsume collapsed. She finally encountered visions, and she saw him, her true mate, a member of the Kitsungen Clan. He had reddish-gold hair, deep brown eyes, a handsome face, and was all around beautiful.

Hana encountered a vision too, although without collapsing. Another member of the Kitsungen was her destined mate. He had lilac eyes, a strong stature, and a pure face which seemed to pull the woman toward him. Both women came out of their trances happy, and they'd hug the boys when they got home.

Naruto and Kiba encountered something strange. Their souls had shared traits with each other, Kiba gaining Naruto's whiskers, and Naruto gaining Kiba's inherently long canines. His were usually only that long when he used Kyuubi's chakra or did his kinky transformation for his mate. "K-Kiba, your face!" Naruto kind of exclaimed. The brunette found a mirror, and he rubbed over the thin whisker marks. "Oh no, people will definitely see those. We'll be kicked out of the village for sure. Kiba, forgive me," he begged as he hugged his mate and cried into his shoulder. The brunette smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Naruto, the village can burn in Hell for all I care," Kiba told him. "I'm ready to shout it to the world. They'll find out whether or not we say it." The boy picked up his head. He seemed unsure, and a tear left him as he smiled and sniffled one last time.

"Can we maybe show Tsunade first out of everyone? It might not be permanent," Naruto spoke. Kiba just gave him a look (narrowed eyes, expressionless lip, kinda "disappointed," but not in a disciplinary way), but he conceded. "Just wear your hood and travel over the rooftops." It was TOO FUCKING HOT OUT FOR THIS! But Kiba did it anyway.

They passed Sakura without a word, but the Kunoichi was interested in Naruto's answer. She decided to listen in on their conversation with Tsunade. After knocking, Naruto and Kiba were let into Tsunade's office. "Oh, Naruto, here about causing the next great canine panic?!" she asked in anger. "You two have once again caused every dog oh my GOD," she spoke when she noticed Kiba's change. The Hokage rose from her desk, shut the door, and locked it. "Naruto, why in blazes does Kiba have your whisker scarring?"

"I don't know!" he spoke a bit in annoyance and anger. "Why do you think we're here?" The Hokage took Kiba's head in her hand and examined each side. "Is it permanent?"

"Uh, yeah," the Hokage told him, expecting he should have already known the answer. "When did they appear, and…**what**, if it isn't too graphic, were you doing when it happened?" Naruto explained the entire Sakura situation, which the pink-haired girl overheard only to end up disappointed just like she expected. She rose and cried silently for a while before going back to her practice. Naruto continued with how he had kissed Kiba, their marks had glowed brightly, and seen his vision of the two in the cosmos. "Kami above, I'm getting too old for this. I have one theory, and it doesn't make sense even to me. Something in the middle of that allowed you two to trade traits. Naruto, have you noticed anything new?" He smiled, and that was everything she needed. "Lovely," she spoke as though it was just more to deal with, which it was, but she really was trying to find a way to help the situation.

"We'll be found out easily within a couple days if not tomorrow," Naruto spoke. Kiba rubbed his thumb over the blond's hand which he held reassuringly in his own. He kissed the fox, trying to get him to smile.

"Naruto, I know you're nervous, but I promise I will defend you if we tell the village outright," Kiba told him.

"Now, it wouldn't matter if you started nuzzling in public, held hands walking down the streets or kissed," Tsunade told them. "Once the people see those whisker scars, it's an instant giveaway. I'll do what I can to make sure no one comes after you, but other than that, I wish you luck." Naruto returned Kiba's kiss at last, but he still looked scared. This would be an effect which would probably follow him for the rest of his life, the fear of the villagers' hatred in all its forms. "Mating Season will be rolling around soon right?" Tsunade asked, receiving an affirmative nod. "If the village can be convinced nothing will happen when the…'demon' should be at his most dangerous, then we might be able to avoid you guys getting killed by a mob. I need the biggest favor from you ever Naruto," she said in all seriousness. "Become a Chuunin without using Kyuubi's powers. Don't play any pranks. Don't do anything to make the village hate you more, for ANY conceivable no matter how paranoid reason. If you want to stay in this village and keep safe, then you need to work with me. Don't go out in public if you're angry. Don't use Kyuubi's chakra for any reason. If the Kyuubi starts affecting you because of Mating Season beyond heating your body up and making you want to be with Kiba, get someone to tell me and I'll drop everything immediately and help however I can. Kiba, never travel without at least one other person. Naruto, I'm gonna set it up so that Kakashi can keep you safe at all hours. He will be staying at the Inuzuka house as a guest so he can protect you instantly from any kind of attack. Are my conditions clear?"

"Yes Tsunade-Sama," Naruto spoke seriously. "I'm scared." It wasn't said pathetically or full of emotion, but the flat statement broke Tsunade's heart. He had every right to be scared, but he didn't deserve the mounting fear. "I'll do my best to become a Chuunin. I promise Tsunade-Sama." His tears made the woman decide something that she would have saved for his sixteenth birthday, but the need presented itself to resurrect the Namikaze Clan.

"Naruto, I know you've got a lot of turmoil to deal with, but time is short. I'll give you all of the details later, but you need some of this information now. Do not be angry with the Fourth Hokage for sealing the Kyuubi in you, because he could ask no one else to do it. Minato Namikaze was your father alright? The blond hair should have been a tip, but I guess you never made the connection." Kiba was horrified. He had done everything to protect Naruto from this information up until now. "Naruto, you're the heir to two of the strongest clans this world has ever known, the Namikazes and the Uzumakis. Jiraiya has informed me of your training with the flash step, but you know of your father's legendary name."

"The Yellow Flash," Naruto spoke distantly as he looked at the floor and tried to picture all the times he should have made the connection.

"The Yellow Flash was a move developed by the Namikaze Clan, the flash step, but on levels surpassing any former or proceeding ninja," she explained. "Your father developed the most advanced form, and it made him a legend. He left you with the key, and I suppose the situation necessitates me giving you part of your inheritance early." She snapped her fingers seven times in different locations, and the three were transported to a secret room Naruto knew nothing about. There were no windows, so he didn't know where the room was either. "This vault holds your inheritance as the last survivor of your clans Naruto, but I'm only gonna give you a part of it, because you aren't legally supposed to gain any of it until you're sixteen and can hold a legal bank account in your own name." Tsunade performed eighty seals and opened a small safe filled with what Naruto recognized to be the legendary three-pronged kunai of the Fourth. "Naruto, Minato never showed me the secret, but these kunai are the key of the Aekemi Shunpo (Bright Flash Step). With these, and here is the plan for their construction," she spoke as she pulled out the stuffed brown, bound file style folders. "You should be able to recreate your father's jutsu. I don't know if the secret is written somewhere in this vault, but I can't legally search it. You can do it Naruto, and then the village will have no choice but to admire you. I believe in you Naruto."

The boy turned the large blade in his hand. It certainly didn't feel as heavy as it looked. What was the secret behind the jutsu? "Thank you, Tsunade-Sama," he spoke before putting a few of the kunai in a special holster which the woman also gave him. He went threw the motion of drawing and throwing the still razor sharp knife, and he felt an odd connection to the Fourth.

"Naruto, please don't pay the issue of your father causing your suffering any mind until after the exam," Tsunade told him. "I owe you a much longer and detailed explanation, but not now. You need to train and focus on figuring out the jutsu. I promise I'll tell you everything after things are said and done." The boy nodded, and he used his clones to carry all the kunai to his house along with their creation guide after Tsunade transported them back to her office. "Kiba, go back to your house quickly; anywhere else is asking for trouble. Tell your mom and sister my theory. Naruto, don't leave the Inuzuka estate unless absolutely necessary. You're at less risk, because your new trait is less easy to place with Kiba's, but don't go inviting trouble. Train your butt off, and I'll see you at the Chuunin Exams." The blond nodded, and he and the clones flash stepped back to the Inuzuka estate, only to become relatively worn out from the intense running. Physical boundaries were easier to overcome than chakra boundaries though, and he was fully energized not long after. Kiba sprinted over the rooftops, the heat of the sun and it being seventy degrees out made him sweat harshly from within his sweatshirt.

No one stopped him, and Kiba found his blond already training when he got home. He undid his hood, and Naruto smiled at how cute and, how HOT, he looked. Beads of sweat, those whiskers over the clan markings, ooooo if Naruto didn't plan on waiting, he'd have mounted that handsome devil right then, even if he and Kiba would become a spectacle to the rest of the clan. "Hey Foxy," Kiba spoke to his stepbrother, making Naruto blush and get an erection from memories. He turned and put his partially hardened shaft under his waistband. "Hey, aren't we mates?" Kiba asked humorously. "I'm not offending by you fixing it in front of me. Speaking of which"

"We're not getting busted by your mom again," Naruto told him insistently. "By the way my handsome alpha dog," he spoke as he seductively walked over to the brunette. "You know what I realized as we were doing it earlier?" Kiba smiled seductively as he wrapped his arms around the neck of his fox who was doing the same to him.

"Yes my sweet fox?" Kiba asked, eyes even with his blond, their height now matched. He had half a mind to actually give in to temptation, but the blond had said no already, so there would be no point in asking, even if he was teasing Kiba halfway to madness and back.

"After we took a break…" he got his mouth up next to Kiba's ear so as to tease with sinfully hot breath against his already heated flesh. The next part was whispered. "The sex got so much better." Kiba's eyes went wide, and he too already had a hard on which was poking against the front of Naruto's leg. "I had an idea," the blond spoke after drawing his face back in front of and a little away from his mate's. "What if we waited, from now until the first night of Mating Season?" Kiba pictured it. Oh man was he in trouble now. Naruto was driving him insane. "We'd both be like virgins again, only far more experienced, and there'd be all those hormones making it doubly good too. Whadda ya say, Alpha?"

"_Kami damn you to Hell for eternity Naruto, and me too, cause you're too freaking hot right now!"_ Kiba yelled in his mind. "It was really THAT much better?" he asked curiously. Actually, Kiba was sure his blond was right, because Naruto was so much tighter that morning.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. Kiba shook his head and gave him a lustful kiss, but he limited it to only the lips. "It'll be tough, but fight the temptation, and I'll be extra good and show you my fox form with two tails." Kiba was now drooling and bleeding from his nose. A form that sexy was something even the gods should worship. "And youuuu, can be in your full form as well, my wonderful canine companion." It sounded better and better every second, and Kiba was more than willing to take his fox up on the offer.

"Hell yes a million times over," Kiba told his fox before embracing him and kissing him passionately. Naruto broke off smiling.

"Then it's a date," Naruto told him. "Now, we've both gotta train. Twenty days, that's the time limit, and another ten before we see the stadium again." Kiba nodded before getting Akamaru to train.

"**What the Hell Kiba!?"** his dog exclaimed when he saw the accented bulge in his pants. **"Fix it. I don't want to stare at that all through training."** Kiba smirked at him as he fixed it.

"Aw, puppy freaked out by his master's testosterone?" Kiba teased. "Or are you just jealous because you don't have someone who can do this sort of thing to you?" Akamaru snarled at him.

"**I know who my destined mate is!"** he yelled. Kiba was a bit frightened to hear his deep, pubescent bark. Akamaru shrank back though. **"I just…don't know if I want to meet him yet." **The comment was quiet, but Kiba understood him. He crouched down and petted his dog behind the ears reassuringly.

"Your mate a fox?" Kiba asked him, his voice calm and sweet. Akamaru whimpered affirmatively. "Hey, the others were really freaked out too. But look at Nikki, Ryuk, Rai, and Jin; they adjusted to it."

"**But none of their mates was the same sex as any of them!"** Akamaru stammered. Kiba's eyes went wide. He had missed that detail entirely. **"I don't know if I'd, like to be known as the one gay dog. Kurumaru'll never let me live it down, and the others will all make fun of me. Same-sex relationships among the humans in the clan are common, but not to us. I won't have pups, or I'll just have to find a desperate female in heat, but that doesn't really make them pups I'm proud of. What do I do Kiba?"**

"Well, I kinda just accepted that I'd never have kids when I fell in love with Naruto," the brunette told his dog. "But for someone like you, I guess that doesn't help. I'm sure we can talk to Mom about it, but you should meet your mate, develop a bond. The longer you wait, the more meaningless the relationship. Do you really want to do that to the person you'll devote your life to and who will do the same for you?" Akamaru realized he was right. "I'm sure our clans can come up with a viable solution to the puppy problem if you're dead set on having good, strong ones which you can be proud of. Now come on, we've both gotta train hard so I don't fall behind Naruto and stay a Genin." Akamaru gave him an affirming bark, and the two worked on the Dynamic Marking, Wolf Fang Over Fang combination.

Naruto read over the design of the kunai, and he discovered one particular detail immediately. These were made out of chakra-absorbing metal. "Wow, hard to believe no one else has figured THAT out," Naruto spoke before pushing chakra into his kunai and throwing it at the tree. Not only did the jutsu not work in the slightest, but the tree was now falling away, the three-pronged blade and chakra apparently having sliced it clean through. There was an enormous crash, and Naruto had to search desperately for twenty minutes with a bunch of clones to recover the blade which had flown a long way. "Some weapon you built Dad." So, apparently the chakra use wasn't the key, or at least not the whole story. Naruto flicked through more of the written design plans. These kunai were extremely durable, took forever to wear or dull, and they were freaking powerful. None of the information explained the jutsu. "The chakra's the key, but there must be more to it involving the flash step." This time, he enveloped himself in a super thin veil of chakra while infusing the kunai with some chakra too, making the control a bit shaky. Naruto through the kunai, and when it landed, he began the flash step. He went straight to the blade in the ground, but it didn't feel or look like the real thing. "What's the secree-eet?" he whined like a little kid. Tsume came home and gawked at the huge tree in her front yard toppled over with only a stump left.

"NARUTO!!!" the woman yelled (like Aw MA-AN!). "What in Hell happened? That tree was standing perfectly straight up earlier. Now, there's a stump and a four-ton tree collapsed on my lawn. What happened?" The boy did the same thing as the first time, sending the kunai straight through the center and out the other side of the tree, landing not very far away this time, and once again slicing the tree clean in half. "WHAT THE HELL?! You could kill someone with that if it went too far."

"Tsunade gave them to me to train with," Naruto told her after bringing back the three-pronged kunai. He went through the entire explanation of being the Fourth's apparent son, and Tsume left to discuss his training with the Hokage. She had known since that one day in the hospital, but she didn't know it would come to this. "How do I use my chakra?" the blond whined. It took two hours of creative thought to get a partially correct result, but the method was too shaky and required a huge amount of control. "Kami Dad, you were freaking awesome." The method was solely the use of chakra, Space-Time manipulation, Star Trek style. On one end of space was Naruto covered in a thin veil of chakra, and on the other end was a three pronged chakra kunai with the identical chakra signature. Getting from one point to the other though required a route. Naruto had found that the route was a chakra string attached from his finger to the kunai, and the rest was sending him at light speed through the chakra channel to the final destination, the kunai. The boy through up from exhaustion and sudden overexertion to his chakra network. Without knowing how to control the amount of chakra used for the travel, Naruto used up his entire store in one go, but the result was a flash of yellow light and his body standing next to the kunai. Naruto picked up the blade and the papers and brought them inside. He placed all the blades in the weapons storage, and he figured the papers were safest back with his fetish clothing for Kiba (The black leather underwear) in the false back of the one drawer.

"Naruto!" Kiba yelled as he ran into the house.

"Ya Kiba?" the blond called from upstairs.

"Did you see that golden light? What was that? And why is the tree cut in half and laying on the lawn?" His blond walked out of the bedroom and nearly collapsed. "Naruto! You okay?"

"That light, and the tree, was me," Naruto explained. "I just, used up all my chakra. I can't train anymore until tomorrow. I guess I can do physical training, but I can't work on that jutsu." Kiba snuffed and smiled before lovingly kissing his stepbrother. "I guess I'll work on fighting my clones. I can use Kyuubi's chakra to make the clones. Sorry to interrupt your training, and tell Akamaru I'm sorry too." Kiba nodded, and the blond took a long drink after he left. Ichigo and Renji stormed into his house with great news for the young blonde.

"Naruto, come on into the living room," Ichigo called. The jinchuuriki came out like he asked. "I-we…have a surprise for you." Both of the older teens were smiling as they stood side to side and hid their gift behind them.

"What is it?" Naruto asked cheerily. Ichigo and Renji parted, and they revealed the cutest kit the blond had ever seen. Kyuubi "AAAAAAAAWWWED" too. "You really got me one? Thanks Ichigo, Renji. Oh, I met Rukia by the way." The redhead cringed. He was supposed to be doing chores at the guest house the three of them were sleeping in. If she found out oooo-oo-oo-oo(shivering spine)…things would get ugly. "Wow, you brought him all the way from the village?"

"Well, my cousin actually brought 'im, but we all agreed since you were the fox among the Inuzuka Clan, you should be able to raise a kit all your own," Renji explained. Naruto picked the tiny thing up in his hands. It sat shyly in his two hands, he barely being three months old. "Ya, they're really small when they're young, but give him a year, and he'll be as big as if not bigger than Akamaru is now, and after another six months, he'll be twice that size. Oh, my mom gave me this healthcare checklist for you. You need to do all that to get the healthiest, strongest fox possible." Naruto eyed the long list in terror, but when his kit mewed in his hands, his eyes glowed brightly in happiness. "I'd let him sleep near you until he's at least a year old, and we can help you teach him English when he gets old enough. Make sure you put him in warm but washable blankets for his bed, because he'll have accidents. There's no avoiding it. Tell all the dogs to leave him alone, because I'm pretty sure you know the food chain. If you don't watch him, he'll wander off, and he might get eaten by one of the family dogs or one in the village until he's at fighting size. Even then though, you need to train him. My mom has a lot of faith in you, but we'll check in every once in a while. Best of luck on the Chuunin Exams. We'll be rooting for you and Kiba, and good luck with dealing with Mating Season on top of it." Naruto smiled back at him. "Here's some soft food until he develops his big teeth. Make sure they get a good cleaning every three months, and just give him a little scrub with a brush every week or so. He'll hate it at first, but they learn to enjoy it. You can probably teach him to have his own proper dental hygiene later."

"Thanks so much you guys," Naruto told them as they went back out the door. His kit looked afraid of the height, so Naruto sat down on the couch and put the baby fox in his lap. "I think I'm gonna call you Kouga," the blond spoke happily. The fox put his forepaws on his stomach as he tried to lean higher, and he mewed happily. "Damn you're cute. You have such a tiny smile." He tickled the kit under his chin with one finger, and Kouga rubbed against it with a smile as he purred. After a while, Kouga got curious and took the finger into his mouth, effectively cutting Naruto on one of the canines. "Ow, ow, ow, ooooouch," he hissed. Kouga's ears dropped, and he shrank back as he saw the look on his master's face was not a pleasant one. Naruto eyed the small trickle of blood before it sealed up thanks to Kyuubi's chakra. The kit whimpered submissively, but Naruto smiled lightly toward him. He picked the fox up, and it whimpered for fear of punishment. Naruto nuzzled his face against the fox pup, and he purred once more. "You want a drink Kouga?" Naruto asked. His smile caused the fox to mew, so he took it as a yes as that tiny tail wagged back and forth. "Stay right here on the table Kouga. I'll get you a plate of water." Naruto took two steps away, and the fox kit slipped as he tried to stand and walk on the slick surface. The bond turned just in time to notice the fox sliding to the edge. He dived and caught a petrified Kouga in his hands with a sigh of relief, but then the obvious thing happened, Kouga wet himself in Naruto's hands. "Aw come on," the blond spoke in glumness. He found a basket with paper towels in it and placed Kouga in it while he washed his hands. Naruto used his clean fingers to pull his sleeves up before washing his hands.

The fox began calling out for his master because he couldn't see him, but Naruto came back to find little turds on the towel. "Well, at least THAT didn't end up on my hands." The blond picked Kouga up and used a soft sponge to give him a warm water scrub which he originally freaked out fearfully over. "Do you want burns from ammonia and phosphorous?" the blond asked, making the kit's ears go down and making him stay still. "Sorry Kouga." He dried the tiny fox off with a paper towel, and he started playing with it, ripping it to bits in his playful mouth. Naruto just watched in humor, but then sighed when he had to pick up the little pieces. "Okay, stay in the basket while I put some water on this plate okay Kouga?" Naruto asked him with a smile. The kit mewed with a smile, and the blond smiled back before getting down a saucer and putting water in it for the little thing to drink. This time, Kouga didn't mew out of fear, and he crawled onto Naruto's hand obediently when the blond went to pick him up. He set them both on the table and walked backwards so as to keep an eye on his baby mischief maker. Naruto got a paper towel and set it down for traction or in case the little fox spilled his water. The thing was curious when he got lifted again, but he was happier to be on a more manageable surface. The little saucer was placed next to him, and he drank happily by putting his forepaws in the dish and lapping up the liquid. When it tipped in his direction, Kouga got scared and scrambled off. "Watch it little guy, wouldn't want my partner getting hurt."

"Who's this now Naruto?" Hana asked as she came in and hung her jacket by the door. She came into the kitchen and got on fangirl eyes. "HE'S SO CUUUUUUTE!" she yelled. Kouga sprang for the shelter of Naruto, and he dove into the blond's jacket faster than he thought possible. He curled up into a ball and whimpered against his master's warm side. "Aw, come on out little guy," she asked courteously. Naruto carefully put his hand below the mass and pulled his jacket out a bit, letting the terrified kit fall into his palm. Hana looked at the terrified and shaking kit with a soft smile, and he slowly opened up to her.

"Careful, he nipped me earlier," Naruto told the woman as she used a finger to massage the tiny thing. Low and behold, he nipped her too.

"Ouch, nice bit of chompers you got there," Hana spoke before drawing her bleeding finger back. "Have you told Kurumaru or any of the others?"

"No, I haven't gotten the chance since Renji and Ichigo gave him to me," Naruto replied. "I named him Kouga. Do you think you could tell most of the families? It'll be at least two years until he can fight against the average hunting dog, let alone YOUR hunting dogs." Hana nodded. She sniffed out Kurumaru who was asleep upstairs.

"Big guy, get up; I've got news for you," the woman started.

"Unless Tsume is pissed at me or I'm getting steak for dinner, I'm going back to bed." Hana was unafraid of pulling cheap shots, and she would just wash her hands later. She grabbed his nut sack hard, making Kuru tense up and whimper. "Bitch," he managed to get out angrily.

"Tsume WILL be pissed at you if you don't listen," Hana warned. She released her grip. "Naruto just received a certain gift from the Kitsungen family, and it is never to cross your mind as a play thing or a chew toy." Kurumaru was interested. "They gave him a baby fox to raise so that he could feel more like he's a part of our clan." The dog's eyes widened.

"You know I hate foxes," he spoke angrily. Hana's look deterred him though. "Great, now I'm sharing this house with a curious, untrained, uncivilized, energetic, and rather filthy little fox. That's just great. So, I'm not allowed to so much as look at the little thing funny?"

"No, and his name's Kouga," Hana told him. "Go find Mom and give her the news. Shen and Raija need fair warning too. I'm gonna go alert the cousins, and the rest of the estate should know by the end of the night." Kurumaru reluctantly got out of bed and ran out the door to find his three charges. "Okay Naruto, I'm going to alert the other families as quick as I can. Keep Kouga from entering the village though. If he comes across any dog, krrghhhhh." She brought her finger across her neck for dramatic effect. The blond nodded once more as he cuddled with his kit, and Hana left in high hopes of securing the little fox's safety.

"Oh, I should set up your bed in your new room," Naruto told his new pet eagerly. He put Kouga in the basket with fresh paper towels and carried him up to his, Kiba's, and Akamaru's room. The blond took one of the blankets labeled "puppy sheet" out of the hall closet along with one of the basket beds obviously used for the young ones. He came back to see Kouga eagerly waiting and giving him that cute puppy smile. Naruto layered the sheet and placed the small pillow in it for his kit's head. His eyes went back to Kouga, and he appeared to be getting sleepy, his eyes drooping a bit, and his wittle yawn was soooooooooooo cuuuute. "You wanna try your new bed Kouga?" Naruto asked as he used both hands to carefully pick up and properly support his kit. He placed him on the blanket, and Kouga was at first uncertain of the shifting surface. He walked around in a circle a couple of times before settling down and laying his head on the small cushion. Naruto massaged the side of his head and purred like he did when Kiba showed his love through their marks. Kouga soon fell asleep, and Naruto smiled as he watched that little chest rise and fall for five minutes. Not wanting his kit to wake up in distress, Naruto softly carried the bed downstairs so he could relax and watch TV. After about two episodes of Ben 10 though, the blonde dozed off on the couch, his head just above Kouga's bed.

Kiba and Akamaru were panting and sweating after breaking off from their transformation for the last time. "That's enough for today boy," Kiba told him. Akamaru nodded, and they took the heart-known path through the woods back to the main path and back to his house. The enormous tree which once stood there was now fallen, cut in half! He ran inside. "Naruto?" he called. No one answered, but he could smell the blond, and some other faint smell that he couldn't place. "Naruto, if you're in here, answer me. The tree outside was cut clean through. Are you okay?"

Kiba's calling brought Naruto from his sleep, but first, Akamaru picked up the foreign scent in curiosity. He sniffed the air like a normal curious dog and traced it to the basket beside Naruto's bed. The blonde woke up in fear as Akamaru sniffed at the orange form in the basket.

"NO!" he yelled emotionally before punching Akamaru in the side, sending him into the leather chair, nearly tipping it over. Kiba turned and saw the fearful look in his blond's eyes. Akamaru whimpered in pain.

"Naruto!? What the Hell did you punch Akamaru for?" Kiba asked as he stepped over to the couch. His foot hung above the baby fox, and Naruto tackled him. "What the fuck Naruto? What has gotten into you?!" he demanded loudly.

"Shhh," Naruto told his mate. "Kiba, I'm sorry, but look what Ichigo and Renji gave me." He grabbed the basket, and still sleeping within it miraculously was Kouga. Kiba's eyes became calmly fixated on the sleeping form. It was so fragile, and he smiled at Naruto for being a good parent.

"I'm sorry Naruto," he spoke before hugging the blond. Naruto was holding the basket carefully so as to not wake up his new pet. "Akamaru, I'm sorry, but Naruto was just defending his new kit. Renji and Ichigo gave it to him, and he overreacted. Can you forgive him?"

"**Did he have to punch so hard? I was only sniffing,"** the dog spoke as he got up. Naruto stared at him in surprise. **"He just smelled weird, so I was investigating."**

"Sorry, I thought, since dogs normally eat foxes, you might," Naruto began. "I'm sorry Akamaru, but this is Kouga. Sorry I punched you so hard."

"**Ya, well, next time don't expect me to take it lying down,"** the dog spoke, still in canine tongue. Naruto looked at him wide-eyed.

"Kiba, did Akamaru learn English?" Naruto asked.

"No why?" his stepbrother asked him.

"I can understand him," the blond replied. Akamaru cocked his head to the side, and Kiba was dumbstruck. "Akamaru, tell me I'm stupid."

"**Why?"** the dog whimpered.

"Why," Naruto repeated. Akamaru gasped, and Kiba was shocked. "Kiba, you don't think this is because of earlier do you?" he asked. "I can speak dog."

"That's awesome Naruto," Kiba spoke loudly as he hugged the kit, receiving another "shhhh!" from the blond. "Sorry," he whispered. "He's so cute. Come on Akamaru; you can look at him." the white dog came over, and he admittedly did find the tiny fox to be attractive in a cute, baby way.

"And wait till you hear his mewing," Naruto spoke with a smile. "He's absolutely adorable, but you have to watch him like a hawk, or he tries to run off or piddles. He peed on my hand earlier." Kiba giggled.

"Ya, remember when you peed on my front when you were a puppy Akamaru?" he asked his white friend.

"**Ah, those were the good ol' days,"** Akamaru replied, receiving giggles from both boys.

**Author Notes: Aw, ain't I just the sweetest possibly gay but don't know yet guy you ever seen writing from? It was a request, but I needed the right time to bring him in without it ending up a side note. Next chapter: Tsume's Reaction.**


	6. The Unaverage Teenage Ninja

**Author Notes: Once again, we're picking up where we left off.**

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**Naruto:** The boys sat on the couch (more like laying down) kissing passionately. (still in clothing) Akamaru had gone upstairs to get away from the annoyance of the two. It was about six now, and Tsume finally walked in the door in excitement. "Naruto, Kiba, come here you two," she spoke like she was about to do something. (You know that voice that you can confuse for anger but a person really doesn't mean it to sound like that? They need to invent a new adverb for that.)

The two boys instantly shot up, Kiba's hands promiscuously on Naruto's waist. "Waitwaitwaitwait, wait!" Naruto yelled as she ran at them. Tsume didn't seem to be stopping. "But we didn't" he was locked in a bone crushing hug, and Kiba was too, bringing the boys' eyes to cross as they tried to look at each other, and breathe. Tsume was smiling brightly, even though they couldn't see her. As Naruto became light headed, the woman released the two, the blond falling onto his lover as he fell back onto the couch and panted.

"Oh, thank you boys so much," she spoke happily as she nuggied the two. Tsume hadn't yet noticed Kiba's change. "I saw my mate thanks to you two. So, how'd you do it?" she asked after finally opening her eyes. Naruto got off his mate and looked partially guilty. Kiba rose, and Tsume was internally stunned when she saw the whisker scars which adorned her son's face. She didn't say a word, and as her hand moved up, Kiba closed his eyes in wait for the slap. He felt soft rubbing on his cheek, and he moaned lustily, blushing and biting his lip as his mother examined each thin line. "Well, might I ask how you got these?" Naruto was quick to try and explain in case she was still inherently mad.

"We just had this really emotional kiss, and our marks started glowing, and…we kinda, gave each other certain traits," the blond spoke, voice quiet and unsure if he should be sorry. "I'm sorry, but Tsunade says they're permanent, and we're gonna get discovered by the village one way or another. Please, I didn't mean to get Kiba in trouble. I" Naruto got out before said brunette claimed his lips softly.

"Hm, so what trait did you get Naruto? I don't see tattoos on _your_ face," Tsume pointed out.

"My little foxy here can speak dog now," Kiba spoke as he fazed into his blond's eyes and held him. Tsume's mouth parted partially. Something about the word "foxy" triggered her brain to notice the foreign scent. It smelled like…fox!

"Is that smell _you_ Naruto?" the woman asked. The blond's eyes shot open as he broke off the kiss. He pointed toward the basket sitting in the leather chair.

"Mom, don't get mad, but Ichigo and Renji came by and gave it to Naruto so he could feel more like the clan and have a partner," Kiba explained. Tsume smiled as her eyes fell upon the sleeping Kouga.

"It's been a while since I raised a puppy," she spoke. "The only difference is that it's a fox. Oh shit! Kurumaru!"

"Don't worry, Hana took care of him," Naruto spoke up. "Where are Shen and Raija? They need to know too. Hana is out explaining my new partner to the whole family so that if Kouga gets loose no one will eat him."

"They went to go train on their own," the mistress replied. "If Hana sent Kurumaru after them though, they know by now….Speak of the devil." Kurumaru came strolling in and immediately went up to bed. "See, the other two will know." She heard a yawn come from below her, and Tsume saw the little fox waking up to greet the world. "Hello little man," she spoke. Kouga shrank back and walked backwards away from her in hesitation. "Aw, shy little guy?" she asked before reaching a finger forward to pet him. Kouga bit her hard, and Naruto was deathly afraid he'd lose his kit early in the game. "OOF, haven't felt that in a LONG time," she spoke with strain. The little fox was growling as he held on and pulled at her skin.

"Kouga! _Don't bite her,_" Naruto spoke, although it wasn't in English. Kiba and Tsume turned to him in surprise, for separate reasons though. The little kit let go and started whimpering, Tsume's blood staining his blanket in a couple places.

"What did you say Naruto?" the woman asked as though she'd seen two heads on one body.

"He told Kouga not to bite. Didn't you understand him?" Kiba asked his mother. Naruto was just stuck in a whirlwind of confusion. Tsume was dumbstruck. She spoke better canine than her son did, but what she heard from Naruto sounded like gibberish.

"No, you did?" the woman asked in reply. Kiba's expression dropped for a blank one. "It seems you now possess another trait. Foxes speak a different language, and now you're trilingual." The woman turned to her still bleeding finger and sucked on it to remove any bacteria before going and getting a bandage. Kouga sat in a spot in the corner where he had piddled from fear.

"Huuu," Naruto groaned/sighed. "You're too small for a leash, but, oh this'll work," he spoke before forming a chakra string and then a band around Kouga's neck. "Time to go for your first walk." The little fox was confused by the foreign chakra, but it didn't break no matter how much he chewed it or pulled on the string. He whimpered before Naruto picked him up and carried him to the grass outside. While he and Kiba dealt with Kouga, Tsume had found the list of stuff which would be needed to get a fox like Kouga to something like Ken.

"WOOOOOOOoooow, she does keep her foxes well," Tsume spoke when she hit the end.

Kit Stage:

Two full meals a day with a bottle of nutrient-rich milk.

A bottle of said milk again at about one o' clock before falling asleep.

Keep groomed.

Check for ticks and parasites frequently. (DO NOT GET A TICK COLLAR YET!)

This will cause a disruption in the immune system, possibly causing death.

Bathe once every day to two days. (Yes, master should be the one to help it learn to not fear water.)

Clean teeth with a brush every few days, and get dental checks quarterly.

Months 3-14: Feed soft food (fish, certain meats, eggs…etc) until baby teeth begin falling out.

Months 14-17: Switch the foods out as necessary for comfort of animal until all second-stage teeth are in place.

Train the kit to go to the bathroom outside and to interact with others. As a tiny kit without a parent, it will be shy to anything that doesn't resemble, smell, or feel like its original mother. Once the kit learns to trust others, teach it to play and exercise. Start this from day one.

Growth pains: This may or may not occur, but sometimes rapid growth in the stages can leave your kit sore. Give the paws massages, and comfort your kit if it is truly experiencing pain.

Months 17 on: Teach your fox to use a "doggy door" for nighttime needs. The sooner this is taught, the sooner a master can sleep easier.

Child stage:

Two full meals a day, still feed it milk to promote strong bones, but it does not have to be as nutrient-rich as in the puppy stage.

Begin teaching your fox to speak in human tongue. If you are versed in fox, you will be more able to teach your partner to speak this new language.

Begin certain strength training, like tug of war, tag, hide and seek. (Make sure your fox knows the boundaries so that it will not run off and get eaten by a predator.

You may begin leash training at this age if you so wish.

Keep the bathing regime and grooming consistent. Also keep up the dental care unless you wish to teach your partner to clean his or her own teeth.

Make sure to clip or sharpen your fox's claws to keep them from becoming a danger to your fox's health. By now, it should know how to retract and extend its claws.

Always respect your pet and listen carefully for problems and behavioral changes which are unexpected. Foxes tend to hide problems much like dogs do so as to not appear weak. (Read the red flags!)

Pubescent stage:

Three full meals a day with nutrient-rich milk to promote the biggest growth during your fox's lifespan.

*Growth: If your pet experiences pain, comfort it and allow ample resting time. Keep other animals away at this time. Your pet will be susceptible to sexual desire and will involuntarily release pheromones to attract a mate. Note: if the pain becomes terrible, put the fox under a genjutsu or use a formula to make it fall asleep. Guard against other animals trying to relieve themselves especially at this time.

*Mood Swings: Make sure your partner knows you are the boss, and never give an inch when your fox is being defiant. If he or she attacks, do your best not to show you are in pain, and growl like it does until the grip is released. Clean the bite wound out in case of infection.

*Attraction: Teenagers are morons on speed. Watch your fox at all times, and evaluate every situation before choosing to let your fox mate or not. Both sides will want it.

Keep up the same grooming and bathing routine, possibly teach your fox at this point to bathe itself with a hose or a tub or a shower. Keep up the dental routine as well.

As needed, switch out soft food for hard food as the final, adult teeth begin coming in.

Your fox will be almost to its maximum size after it turns three, and its personality may make certain changes. This is normal, but do not tolerate defiance and obscene aggression.

Adult Stage:

Two full meals a day (let it hunt on its own sometimes)

Same dental and bathing regime, but your fox can groom itself easily by now. (You may have to deal with the occasional fur ball, far far less frequent than cats though.)

If you have not already, begin teaching your partner about the shinobi world, and teach it to fight both alone and alongside you. You and your partner should be nearly perfectly in synch within five months.

Have fun with your partner when possible, and let him/her be free to choose mates now (Except when other foxes are growing in the pubescent stage).

"Well, you've got your work cut out for you Naruto, but we'll help you," Tsume spoke. Her boys came in with a happy looking Kouga. He sat down and looked up at the woman with a smile, and the chakra string surrounding him disappeared. Kouga scratched lightly at the bottom of Naruto's pant leg, and the blond lifted him into his arms, in which the kit cuddled happily and mewed. "Naruto, you seen this list?"

"Ya, but I can manage with my shadow clones," the blond claimed. He was babying the little kit, and Tsume smiled. "It's about dinner time for you little guy."

"RAeer!" Kouga exclaimed. It seemed he couldn't even speak in fox yet. Naruto got out the bag of soft dog food and nutrient-rich milk from the fridge. He set down a paper towel on the table, to which Tsume raised an eyebrow, and on that he placed Kouga, a flat plastic board with the food, and a saucer of the milk. Kouga dove into the oddly brown food happily, and it impressed Naruto that he could eat so voraciously.

"By full meal, Sukima meant fruit, bread,…" Tsume spoke as Naruto got out and cut and mashed said items. Kouga had finished his saucer when the blond came back, and he refilled it after placing down the rest of the food.

"You'll make a great owner Naruto," Kiba spoke as he wrapped his arms around Naruto's side to his other shoulder and lightly kissed his mate. The two smiled as they watched Kouga sniff at the different things before tasting and then completely eating them.

Hana finally walked in with a pizza in hand. "I'm not cooking tonight, but I brought back a green pepper, onion, pepperoni, and mushroom," she spoke before setting it on the table. Kouga instantly ran over, sliding a bit on the wooden surface. Now Tsume understood the paper towel. The kit sniffed voraciously and mewed and scratched at the box. "Nope, this isn't for you," Hana spoke sweetly. "Naruto, just put him on the floor. The word is spreading, and the three of our dogs know." Shen and Raija had come home, and at first Kouga was freaked out, but Shen lifted him onto the couch with his teeth and allowed the little puppy fox to climb all over him and explore. He had been a father once before, so this was normal, the nibbling on ears, the weird feeling of a paw touching every little place on you (Perverts stop now).

Naruto and the family talked while the little fox was exploring. He made a daring jump down and began sniffing over Raija, who was put in a strange position to say the least. The little Kouga obviously didn't mean to be stepping all over him, and he wasn't claiming dominance by doing so, but the grey wolf just felt a bit annoyed. When Kouga jumped off of him, he secretly went under the table, wherein all but Tsume were barefoot. The kit stayed away from Kiba's rotten foot odor, and he already knew Naruto. Kouga sniffed at Hana's feet before licking her toes, making her scream and shoot out of her chair. The frightened fox scrambled into Naruto's pants (Again perverts, NO!), freaking the blond out as the fox used his claws to scramble up his side and hide on his back, leaving little claw marks and cuts on his body.

"I thought that was a mouse," Hana spoke as she clutched the place over her heart and panted. Kiba and Tsume just laughed hysterically as Naruto remained in a kind of hunchback position with Kouga's nails digging into his back. _"Like Hell I'm SHARPENING your nails,"_ he thought as he held an expression which showed his obvious discomfort.

"Would you mind laughing AFTER I get the eight claws out of my back?" Naruto asked through his teeth. Kiba undid his jacket, and he giggled at seeing the bulge in the back of Naruto's shirt. The blond once again spoke in fox subconsciously, and the kit popped his head out of the top of the shirt. Kiba pet his head softly with one finger, coaxing the thing onto the blond's back. "Pick him up already; my back is getting stiff," the blond whined. Kiba did so, and Kouga trusted him since he smelled so much like his master. "Thanks," Naruto spoke before taking the kit in his hands. "_Try not to cut me so much on your way up alright?_" he asked the fox, which mewed what sounded like an apologetic "okay." Naruto purred and stroked the kit's cheek, and Kouga purred back. "_Sniff around and get used to the place, but don't go into the first room on the left upstairs or outside okay?"_ Kouga gave an affirmative yip before the blond placed him on the slippery wooden floor. He soon discovered that his claws didn't help with moving on the slick surface, so Kouga retracted them and walked around, sniffing everything from the floor to the spices on the counter to Kurumaru's food bin.

After Naruto and the others had finished eating, he cleaned off Kouga's plates and put them away, the note mentioning not to feed his pet dish soap by accident and poison his little body.

"I'll get him vaccinated in two months," Hana spoke up. "He won't like it, so you need to be there Naruto." The blond nodded and sounded light growls for Kouga to come back, and the little orange dude whipped around the corner smiling in an instant. "Alright boys, time for bed. By the way, what are we gonna do with the tree?"

"That's right," Tsume began. She was thinking of punishment, but it was an accident. "I suppose the carpenters will want it. That tree was the one I first broke my foot on. I had a lot of good memories with that beast."

"It was an accident," Naruto repeated quietly, guiltily.

"Just go up to bed," Tsume spoke with a smile. Naruto brought Kouga up to his and Kiba's room, and he put the soiled blanket in the wash and grabbed a new one. This orange one Kouga settled down into sooner, but he began mewing in want for his master when Naruto put him near Akamaru and walked toward the bed. The blond smiled and sighed before placing the basket right next to the corner of the bed. When he climbed back in, Kiba grabbed him by the waist and began kissing his blond into the bed, lovingly of course. It progressed as usual, the occasional moan, jacket being removed, shirt, pants, down to where both boys were in boxers. Neither one's mind currently laid on the twenty-day waiting goal that had been set, but maternal instinct soon clicked in the blond's head.

"Kiba, not in front of Kouga!" he hissed. The brunette whined.

"So how come we could do it in front of Akamaru?" he asked as he was on hands and knees above the blond with a hard on.

"Well, he watched us the first time in the woods, and I couldn't prevent that. Plus, Kouga is barely three months old," Naruto told him. "You don't do that in front of a baby, and Akamaru was technically a teenager in dog years. If he thinks you're hurting me, he'll bite, and that's just too graphic for a kid his age. Can you imagine him just randomly trying to mount one of the puppy dogs? THAT would cause trouble, something I'd rather avoid so I can stay in this family. My apartment must be burnt to a crisp by now." Kiba sighed in defeat. "Besides, what happened to storing up the horniness until the first night of Mating Season?" The brunette perked up. He smirked at the blond before laying on his side, turning Naruto on HIS side, and hugging their bodies closely together.

"Fine, no sex until then, so I'll just give you a hickey every night," Kiba told the blond before kissing that same spot on the back of where his neck and shoulder muscles joined. Naruto moaned as that strong, warm tongue licked his skin, softening it for what was to come next. Kiba lightly bit down on the skin, making the blond moan and tense up from the pleasure. When his body relaxed, Kiba began lightly teething the skin, sucking it, licking it, biting it from time to time. One final, strong bite made Naruto cringe in slight pain, and then his mate drew off. "Every night…foxy," Kiba spoke as he lightly kissed the new bruise on his lover's neck. Naruto fell asleep feeling his mate's erection against his ass.

Both of them dreamed slightly more animal-themed thoughts. Both involved foxes and dogs, but the only difference was that Kyuubi existed in Naruto's dream and not in Kiba's.

**9 Hours Later:** Naruto woke up, and his mate had apparently calmed since the night, but HE had morning wood. Kiba would definitely laugh at him for getting aroused when it was HIS idea to wait so long. Naruto slithered out of his grip and lifted Kouga's basket with him to the shower.

"Hey boy, you're gonna take your first shower today," the blond spoke after Kouga woke up. He turned on the warm water and got out of his boxers before testing the water and lifting Kouga to the side of the shower. The loud sound of falling water frightened him a bit, but the occasional warm droplet splashing his face made him want to try it. Naruto put him on the edge of the floor of the shower, and Kouga dipped his feet in the running warm water as his master got a bottle of dog shampoo. When the blond turned, Kouga was slipping over to his feet. "You okay there buddy?" he asked. The little kit shook himself out and mewed happily, tail wagging. Naruto cupped his hands under the warm water until they were full, after which he drizzled some on the fox, making him nervous and curious at first. When the whole thing was dumped on him, Kouga jumped and held onto Naruto's leg painfully. "Get under one of the streams and you'll stop shivering," he spoke. Kouga wasn't big enough to occupy them all at once, but he found three streamlets which kinda massaged his back and kept his whole body warm.

Naruto applied a little of the shampoo, and Kouga was reluctant at first, but the massaging fingers eventually mellowed him out. He was soon a white, bubbly mass, but then the water washed him clean. Naruto carefully went through his fur, picking out little dirt clumps and the occasional bit of bark, but he was tick free. Kouga made it difficult since he wasn't used to being examined so thoroughly. After Kouga was clean, Naruto scrubbed himself down while his kit just stood under the water. When his master was done, Naruto dried Kouga off using a hand towel, and his fur turned all spiky. Kiba walked in just as Naruto was drying off his hair, and damn he wished he could have a piece of that tan ass right then. His blond blushed when he finally noticed his mate.

"I'm already clean, but I've gotta feed Kouga here and then get on to training," he spoke. Kiba frowned, but he and Akamaru jumped in the shower as well. Naruto put Kouga in his jacket since he wouldn't be able to simply slip out as he went down the stairs. The kit started whimpering, and Naruto understood that he didn't want to "go" on his master. He took his orange companion outside on chakra leash, and Kouga did his business with his master's back turned. "Good boy," the blond spoke before petting him.

Hana already had the kit's breakfast out, so Naruto let him have it while the woman happily served up sausage and eggs. Kiba joined them about ten minutes later and kissed his blond good morning. "That little fox looks happy in your care," Hana spoke up when she gave Kiba his plate. Naruto smiled as he pet his companion behind the ears.

"_**I can't wait to have kids of my own,"**_ Kyuubi told his jinchuuriki. _**"And I'll know how all to take care of them because of you. He's so cute. He reminds me of you when you were little, just much furrier."**_ Naruto considered it. So, he was more and more fox than he first realized. When he realized he was done, Naruto asked Hana where he could get a brush for the kit's teeth. She showed him the cabinet in the bathroom, and the blond invited Kouga to learn dental hygiene.

It was a half hour before the blond came down with healing claw marks on his face and a slightly agitated canine companion. "You laugh and I'll extend the time limit to a month," Naruto threatened Kiba. The brunette instantly waved all comedic thoughts out of his head.

"Time limit?" Tsume asked curiously. The boys blushed. "What are you getting on about?"

"Weeeell," Naruto began. "We kinda noticed after going five nights that the…you know…got better, so I proposed maybe waiting until the first night of Mating Season, nineteen more days."

"You won't make it," she replied. "Once a guy pair is together, the most anyone can go is a week. Especially once it gets close to Mating Season, you'll get more and more horny, and less of your mind will be devoted to holding back your desires to mate. I bet you don't last three more days." Naruto asked how much, and Kiba knew he was about to make some more or less "easy money." "I'll give you a hundred if you make it longer than three days." Hands were shaken in front of Hana as a witness, and the bet was sealed.

Naruto and Kiba trained hard for three days, the blond getting better with his new Aekemi Shunpo. If he could form a Rasengan between when he threw the kunai and it landed, then he could win any match instantly. He tried forming the Rasengan before he threw the kunai, but the chakra focus stretched so thin was impossible, and the orb blew up in his face every time. One creative thing happened though; he learned something even the Fourth was not known for, instant teleportation between areas. He could throw a kunai at his target, then at some area, warp to his target, deliver a blow, and recover the first kunai, and then he would be safely brought to the next kunai. All it took was timing, just enough for a swing of an arm. And if the chakra could stay in the kunai long enough, he could warp in and out, delivering several punches before a chain was complete. Doing multiple kunai AND a Rasengan though proved too much, and his speed with forming the orb wasn't fast enough yet.

"At least I still have time," the blond panted with a smile. Raija was generous enough to sacrifice his own time and watch and train Kouga when his master was doing things capable of killing the tiny fox instantly. Kiba had secretly discovered something very important, and he believed it would help him beat Naruto in the exams if he could just master it. His chakra element turned out to be Earth, and so he went looking for Biran at the dojo to teach him the Earth user trademark, the Iron Skin Jutsu. Akamaru could do it too since their chakra was linked.

Later that night at dinner, Naruto declared he and Kiba the winners of the bet. Tsume at first slumped in defeat, but then she smirked having remembered what she bet. "Fork it over Mom, one-hundred Ryou," he said confidently.

"Sure, one…hundred…seconds…of nuggying," the woman spoke. She and Kurumaru pinned the two boys who were now surprised as all get out. The cries of pain were soon heard as the seconds ticked in Tsume's head. "There, a hundred seconds. You win boys."

"You, bet one-hundred Ryou," Naruto told her as he held the top of his head.

"No, I bet 'a hundred,'" Tsume replied with a smile. "I outsmarted you." Naruto's expression fell, and Hana started laughing.

"Never underestimate my mom," she spoke. "Although, it is impressive that you boys have gone so long. You'll be rutting by tomorrow though." Oh, but they wouldn't be. Their thoughts lay on revenge on Tsume, and on the Chuunin exams. When that day ended, all their lust would come shooting out like Naruto's seed after a REALLY good fucking. There was a knock at the door, and Tsume answered to find Kakashi standing outside with a suitcase. He handed a letter to Tsume from the Hokage, and he went on to explain why he'd be protecting Kiba and Naruto. "I'll go ahead and make the guest bed," Hana interjected midway into the conversation. Tsume was at first mad at Naruto for not mentioning this, but when she heard Tsunade's concern, she was happy to be housing Kakashi for a while.

"Oh, and if you hear yelling, howling, moaning, just do your best to ignore it," she called up the stairs, making Kakashi feel very awkward and making her sons blush and hang their heads. They were going to get that woman.

"Oh, before I forget, the Chuunin Exams have been moved up, to the 4th of April," Kakashi stated before going to bed. Kiba and Naruto screamed in their heads. That was the day set apart for them to be horny little canines, and now they'd probably be too tired to do it that night. Well, maybe their brains would be so drained they wouldn't think about it.

And so it was that each night, the two went to bed with more training under their belt, more hormones stored up, and more anxiety over the tournament.

**Author Notes: Yes, it's short, but the tourney will be longer. That will be the next chapter. Review please.**


	7. All in a Day

**Author Notes: Once again, we're picking up where we left off.**

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**Inuzuka Residence:** It was 6:45, and the boys were less than comfortably sleeping in each other's embrace. The two had so far made it without giving into their urges, but it had taken all their willpower, and it required the two completely focusing on training. Their results from their intensive training were beyond satisfactory. Kiba had the Iron Skin Jutsu down along with a couple other tricks which would help him win the day. Naruto had the Fourth's jutsu down as well, and he had learned how to chain his attacks. Both boys were sweating and shaking, and they continually increased the pressure by which they were holding each other. It was not a pretty picture.

"ALRIGHT BOYS UP AND AT 'EM!" Tsume yelled as she kicked open the door. The two stepbrothers' eyes shot open, and the two didn't even have a split second to say "good morning" before their mother tossed their outfits at them. "Hana's got a big breakfast in the works, and you two have a big day." Kouga, who had instantly sprung awake in terror at Tsume's voice, was under the sheet in his basket trying to hide. "Go on: shower, trim claws, fix hair, get dressed, eat, stretch…COME ON!" she roared. The two boys were in the bathroom under a cold shower in no time flat.

"Jeez Mom," Hana spoke. "You nearly scared little Kouga here out of his skin." The woman was holding the shaking orange mass in her arms. "How 'bout I get you some food little guy?" All there was for a reply was whimpering. "I swear Mom, you're gonna either traumatize him into a permanent scaredy cat, or you're gonna have a second Kurumaru on your hands." Hana carried the not quite as tiny fox downstairs. She started warming up the nutrient-rich milk and got him a bowl of the soft food Renji and Ichigo had originally given to Naruto. The supply was dwindling too. "Gotta find out what all they put into this," she told herself.

The boys came running down the stairs, Tsume being right on their heels. Naruto had trimmed his hair to keep it out of his eyes, and Kiba had cleared his of twigs, leaves, dirt clumps, and the like. "Okay, for our soon to be Chuunin, we've got your spiced scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fresh bread, orange juice, water, cereal, oatmeal, and some smoked salmon." Naruto and Kiba sat, filled their plates, and started eating, their eyes being a bit puffy and droopy from lack of peaceful sleep. "The things guys do for extreme sex."

"HANAAAA!" they both whined loudly.

"Well, you two defied normal possibility. I didn't think you could go for more than two weeks," the woman replied. "Here ya go Kouga." Hana poured the heated milk into a small bowl which Kouga could now dip his head down into to drink. The little kit was just as much a voracious eater as his master.

"Hey, could one of you guys watch Kouga for me during the fights?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, I can keep him with me," Hana replied. The little fox seemed to like her a lot, so the blond nodded before finishing up his oatmeal. It was barely seven in the morning, so this was nightmarish.

"Go on and stretch, check your gear, and make sure you don't forget anything," Tsume commanded. Naruto had all his usual weapons, including his new three-pronged kunai. He had also stocked up on some paper bombs and exploding tags. The blond bent back, did lunges, did every kind of stretch he could think of. Pissing off Tsume and getting beaten up before the matches would only cause problems. Kiba soon came out and gave his fox a quick peck on the lips as a "good morning."

"Good luck Kiba," Naruto told him.

"To beat _you?_ As if. I've got way more skill than you, and a fart won't save you this time," he claimed.

"Luck may be luck, and skill may be skill, but you'll need more than that if you wanna beat me," Naruto told him. "Just look at my last victim," he spoke humorously as he pointed at the tree. Kiba smirked.

"But the tree can't dodge a kunai…**I **can though….Either way, the tournament will decide." Naruto smiled. The two had basically finished up when an ANBU appeared out of nowhere.

"Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka?" the man with an otter mask inquired. The two nodded. "The Hokage wishes to speak to you before you go to the tournament grounds. I will escort you." Naruto knew what this would be about before they even made it to the woman's office.

"You are dismissed Yuri," Tsunade told the man before closing the door. "Alright. Naruto, I realize you won't _mean_ to use Kyuubi's powers during your matches, but I had a suppression tag made just in case." The boy groaned. "Just wear it. This tag won't interfere with your chakra at all, but it's a fail-safe." She put in on the blond's arm beneath his jacket. "Kiba, in order to hide your whiskers…well…just put this over them." The boy grimaced.

"Hell no. I am not wearing makeup thank you very much," the boy protested.

"Kiba dear, just do as she says. You'll lose whether or not you protest," Naruto claimed. "Besides, it's only base. It matches your skin perfectly, and it won't run. If it were rouge or eyeliner, I might side with you."

"Some mate you are," the boy grumbled. Naruto raised an eyebrow before taking him into a hot and oh so tempting kiss. Tsunade was put into shock, and now the brunette had a boner with no way to get rid of it. "I swear you're gonna pay when I fight you."

"Just put on the base and man up," Naruto replied. "May I leave Tsunade-Sama?" The woman nodded, and the blond left toward the direction of the stadium. Kiba sat there angrily as the Hokage covered up his whisker scars.

"Now, this lipstick will match the color of your tattoos, so the scars won't be visible, but you won't be questioned either," Tsunade claimed.

"And if I sweat?"

"Good luck," she replied.

"Great," Kiba sighed. Well, at least it wasn't at all obvious he was wearing makeup. Tsunade and he walked off to the stadium together, and the cheering crowds could be heard from a ways off. The Hokage went up the stairs to her reserved viewing area, and Kiba stepped under the archways that led out onto the field. They certainly had a crowd. _"Just like last year,"_ Kiba thought to himself as he took his spot in the line of contenders.

Tsume, Hana, and Kakashi took their seats in the stands, Kouga sitting frightfully in his basket. "I heard that Naruto beat Neji last year, but I can barely understand how. Wish I'd seen him fight," the white-haired man declared.

"Well, you saw Kurumaru, so it must have been just with the Kyuubi's chakra," Tsume replied. "I have a feeling both of them are gonna come home sore."

There was a new proctor this year, apparently the original having gone on a mission, but all the judges were seated and ready to critique the contenders. Tsunade stood in her podium to welcome the guests. "Welcome one and all, ninja, Feudal Lords, villagers, travelers, to the Leaf Village Chuunin Exams," she roared. There was a loud applause. "Before you stand the combatants who will display their prowess before the elders and judges including myself. Give them all your cheer through the victories and through the honorable losses. We ask that you attend the entirety of the event and not leave until the last match is over." More applause sounded, and the proctor explained that there'd be no rules other than he had control over ending a match.

Naruto itched for the fight…and for his mate's touch, but that wouldn't be until later. The tag hidden under his jacket was suppressing Kyuubi's chakra, but the two could still talk. Kyuubi warned him to not overdo it and get hurt, because his accelerated healing was suppressed too. "The matches are as follows," the examiner spoke as he held up the sheet. Rookie 7 +Team Gai= 10, and adding in the Grass ninja made 13. Neji had to fight the extra round, but that meant two of the Grass ninja would be quickly eliminated. No one could beat Neji before Naruto, and the blond had had a bear of a time. Naruto had the second match against Ten Ten. Two weapons masters would make for an interesting match. The first match was one as old as this set of Genin itself: Ino and Sakura.

"The rest of you, go up to the observation podium," the proctor spoke calmly. The Genin proceeded quickly and quietly, and Naruto kept feeling the evil stare of the one Grass shinobi he had hit with Kyuubi's genjutsu. The trouble was, Neji wasn't fighting him. There would inevitably be a clash between them.

"So, the boy is trying once more?" Homura, the female elder and high-judge of the event asked Koharu next to her. The man nodded emotionlessly. "Hm, if he fights the Hyuuga, we could have a disaster on our hands. The last time, he used the demon's powers to beat him, and he still nearly failed. If he draws more on the fox's powers, it is likely he will become enraged and attack without mercy. We must control his progression."

"If you two so much as think of automatically disqualifying him, I suppressed the Kyuubi's powers," Tsunade spoke after overhearing their conversation. "He and Kiba both need to make Chuunin this year, and they'll do it fairly."

"There is also the issue of clan politics Tsunade-Hime," Homura replied. "Putting two Inuzukas into the Chuunin division will upset the Hyuugas unless both Neji and Hinata pass. Not this year. Perhaps we will let Kiba move up in the ranks, but the boy is out of the question until I know you can control him without question."

"You dare insult him like this?" Tsunade asked her in anger. "Of course he can be controlled." When she thought about it, those were the wrong words anyway. "Better yet, he doesn't need to be controlled. You won't see a spec of the Kyuubi's powers. Even the accelerated healing has been cut. You WILL give him a fair chance."

"Watch your tongue!" Koharu spat. "Even with all of that, and assuming both Hyuugas passed, I could not allow him to become a Chuunin. If the village catches wind of their…situation, we'd be wrecked and humiliated, maybe even sacked because they thought we were conspiring with the demon."

"What do I have to do to get you old bags to listen?!" Tsunade yelled. The match had already begun, and her apprentices were both duking it out. "If you hold him down, he will only become angry, and no doubt will the village 'find out' about their relationship before next year. Naruto is becoming one of the best shinobi we have. The missions I give him are child's play, and I can't just hand him a B-Rank until he's a Chuunin. If you keep holding him back, he'll never amount to anything, and the others will become distant. What you're doing is the only thing that would maybe make him go berserk. Sakura's going to pass going by what she's doing now, and he'll be alone for next year. Do you realize how unstable you'll make him if he can't remain with his friends? Give him a fair chance." Both elders were furious, but they were backed into a corner.

"On one condition," Homura began. "Someone from ANBU other than Kakashi must remain with him once he is a Chuunin. Danzou has wanted to study the boy, and he believes his apprentice Sai would be more than capable of defending himself from a demon attack if the case ever occurred. Do we have a deal?"

"Fine," the blond woman replied. She had what she wanted, and the elders sort of had what they wanted, another leash around the fox demon's neck, one with a little poison needle in it if he ever got too rough with the villagers. "By the way, who told you about Naruto and Kiba?" The two elders smirked.

"The eyes of Konoha are not blind. We could see it coming for years," Koharu began. "An abomination, but one foreseen is one controlled. It is a miracle the Inuzuka boy has withstood his…partner. I'd have thought the Kyuubi would find another chew toy by now and have thrown the old one out. I guess it worked out, and the family isn't even unhappy about this. Even when the vessel came of age, the fox remains relatively tame, for a demon."

Tsunade wanted to kill them. Nothing was wrong about their relationship. Everything in this village was tied to keeping the fox in check. Naruto didn't exist as anything more than a prisoner blissfully unaware of his own entrapment. He suffered and languished, and the village just kept on bludgeoning him. It was like every cry for help was interpreted as "I WILL KILL YOU!" The bonds got stronger and stronger, and the pain just worsened. _"Please win Naruto…please,"_ Tsunade begged in her mind.

"Match concluded, winner: Sakura Haruno," the proctor declared. The pink-haired, green-eyed girl helped Ino up after a knock-out blow to the chest. The blond had tried her Body-Mind Switch Jutsu, but it failed twice, and her medical ninja skills were not up to par with Sakura's. "Would the combatants Naruto Inuzuka and Ten Ten please come down." The blond released a sigh. Well, this would be interesting.

"Good luck Naruto," Sakura whispered just loud enough for his trained ears to pick up the sound as she came up to the landing. Naruto nodded back to her and grunted. He might have to reveal his secret weapon this first round, or maybe he wouldn't. It would all depend on his opponent's tenacity.

Ten Ten gave the blond a confident smile, telling Naruto it would all be over soon. "Alright you two, fight until death or loss of consciousness. I will only end the match if the fighting level becomes absurd or there is too much malicious action," the proctor spoke, far more towards Naruto. _"I'm watching you demon-boy,"_ he said to himself. "Begin." Ten Ten already had a scroll unraveling, and Naruto had two kunai drawn by the time he could see writing. Many kunai, shuriken, and a few odd weapons flew at him, and Naruto dodged by jumping.

"That all you got, Ten Ten?" he asked with a smile.

"Hardly," the girl countered before flicking her hand upward. Steel wires and chakra strings sent the pointed projectiles back up at Naruto. He summoned a clone who kicked him at Ten Ten, taking the hit as the real blond whizzed in for an attack. Ten Ten lost her composure for a sec, but a smaller scroll materialized her battle staff.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled before bringing both his knifes down, causing sparks to fly and Ten Ten to lose her footing for a little. _"Not bad."_

"_He's strong,"_ the girl thought to herself. She spun, sending Naruto back as she drew two scrolls which levitated in the air. "Ninja Art: Horizontal Rain." The blond was surprised by the onslaught, but his hearing helped him find the weapons on course. He charged forward, knocking away shuriken and kunai one after another. _"How is he"_ the girl began asking herself before biting her thumb and drawing out her chain and striker weight. Ten Ten began whirling it, and she saw an opening with which to get Naruto while his arms were too far outside. "HaaaAAh!" she roared as the spiked weight flew. Naruto looked nervous, but then he suddenly disappeared.

"Behind you Ten Ten!" Lee yelled from the observation flat. The girl turned in fear as two kunai came racing at her. She managed to block them with her chain, but Naruto flash stepped behind her again.

"No way," the girl spoke in shock. Boom! She doubled over in surprise as the fist connected with her stomach, the blond not even using half power. Ten Ten was thrown a ways and then tumbled backward until she stopped near a tree. She coughed from the disruption to her diaphragm, but the girl recovered before Naruto could move in again. "Ninja Art:" woosh. "Shielding Rain!" When the last hand sign fell into place, Naruto watched blades pour upward from the four scrolls boxing Ten Ten in. When they started coming back down, the boy had to dodge left and right until he got dizzy.

"There's no end to them," he spoke. A couple shuriken nicked his side and his arms, but he fell back from the weapons' range. "If I can't get you from the ground," woosh, "I'll get you from the air!" Naruto began forming a Rasengan in his right hand as he fell out of the sky. Ten Ten smirked. The boy fell for it, and the scrolls angled to fire across each others lines. Naruto didn't even try to dodge. He fell through them, dodging only what was necessary, even taking a full kunai to the stomach in pain.

"What the!" the girl spoke in total shock as Naruto kept coming. She dispelled the jutsu, and Ten Ten barely dodged the orb. Rocks and dust flew into the air as she skidded back, but with her eyes shielded, Ten Ten couldn't see what hit her next. Naruto blurred behind her and delivered a punishing spin kick. "Aaaaaah" THONK! "Uuuuuh." Ten Ten collapsed against the tree, losing consciousness.

"Tch, _well, she wasn't really all that tough. Fine demon boy. You win,"_ the proctor thought to himself. Naruto pulled the knife out of his stomach as he walked toward his fallen comrade. "Hey, you won already," the man called in seriousness and in worry. Naruto didn't go to kill Ten Ten though. He just picked her up and headed for the stairs. "Tch, match concluded. Victor: Naruto Inuzuka." There were some cheers from foreigners and supporters, but many in the village booed.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she came running down the steps. He had a pretty big blood stain in his jacket now.

"Make sure Ten Ten doesn't have a concussion," he replied calmly before rolling up his sleeve and pulling the tag off. Kyuubi's chakra lightly misted around him and began quickly repairing his wounds.

"Told you he didn't need the Kyuubi's power to win," Tsunade told the two slightly impressed elders. Homura though quickly countered with…

"He's reckless however. The boy went straight through her attack suffering damage simply to end the match. He's hardly a thinker worthy of Chuunin leadership," she explained with a grin.

"But the boy still thought it through," Koharu began. "He knew he had no chance on the ground, and even though it is harder to dodge in the air, there was no way for him to penetrate her defenses otherwise. And with the enemy stunned, he only needed one blow to finish her, and he was holding back."

"The Rasengan wasn't his full power, and his kicks can be twice as strong if not more," Tsunade explained. "See, strength AND tactics." The woman huffed. This fair chance was turning into "let's just make him a Chuunin now."

"Hmm, not bad Naruto," Shikamaru mused as he wrote down the scores. Willpower: 8, Overall Ability: 10, Battle Planning: 8, Special Abilities: 9. "Tsunade must be cutting off the Kyuubi's chakra if that wound didn't heal during the fight. She's really giving the elders a tough time." Many of the other judges seemed to be giving him lower scores, mutterings of "demon boy," "filth," and "cheap shot" were spreading. "Care to explain why you're penalizing him so much?" the young Chuunin asked. The others cringed. Shikamaru was scary when he wanted to be. "Ten Ten was the one who didn't account for his will to fight, and a Shinobi knows you always keep your eyes open and on the enemy. She failed to do either, and so she lost. Naruto on the other hand thought it through with the aerial attack. He couldn't do anything on the ground, and I figure none of you has ever taken a hit from his Rasengan. Naruto was holding back; otherwise that hole would be twice as wide and much deeper, and Ten Ten would have a broken rib or two." The other judges revised their scores a little bit, but they were being harsh, nothing going over six. Ten Ten received the scoring Shikamaru pointed out, receiving a 3 in Willpower for losing face often, 6 in Overall Ability (she only used so many techniques), Battle Planning: 7, and Special Abilities: 2 because once again, Ten Ten really didn't get to show much of her stuff. "Maybe next year Ten Ten."

His partner Chouji was up against Lee, and the fight was becoming rather interesting. Lee had taken cuts from the Spiky Human Boulder, but Chouji was the one running out of steam. One more solid kick to his central area brought the Akimichi to his knees. "I give. I can't win," he declared. Shikamaru smiled. At least he was picking his battles carefully. He and Lee received similar scores. Next up was Shino and the Grass ninja who held a grudge against Naruto.

Shino appeared to have things covered until the Grass ninja revealed his abilities. He had Fire Style Jutsu on par with Sasuke! One giant fireball consumed more than half his swarm at once, and the Aburame was left speechless. "Strategic blunder on your part Shino," Shikamaru spoke. Meanwhile, Naruto had woken Ten Ten up.

"Hey, no hard feelings right?" the blond asked.

"I guess it can't be helped, but I didn't even get a chance to use the Twin Dragon or my new jutsus," the girl whined. "When did you get that fast?"

"Family secret," Naruto replied. If she thought that was fast, his chain Aekemi Shunpo would boggle her mind. There was a surprised gasp from the crowd, and everyone stared down at an unconscious Shino.

"Time to finish you off," his opponent spoke. He drew a kunai and brandished it, but the proctor stepped in.

"Match concluded," he spoke seriously as he held the boy by his wrist. It was a painful grip too, as his face contorted. "Go up and prepare for your next match."

"Fine," the infuriated male replied flatly. He was released before turning and leaving.

"Next match: Hinata Hyuuga vs. Kiba Inuzuka," the proctor called. Naruto watched his mate walk down the stairs confidently. Akamaru followed behind, the white hound having doubled from his previous size. His master could no longer support him on his head or hold him in his shirt. Kiba smiled at Hinata before the match began. His blond boyfriend thought he'd probably lose to the Hyuuga's advanced defense.

Hinata was proving to be a challenge. She dodged every kunai, and even when Kiba and Akamaru were man-beast clones, they couldn't QUITE get her. That was until the brunette caught one of Hinata's forward palm thrusts. "Now Akamaru!" Kiba yelled. The dog woofed as he charged the girl. Hinata lost face for a second, but she managed to recover and kick the dog in the face just in time. "Hey!" the brunette growled before punching her in the stomach. Hinata hadn't expected it, and pretty much everyone watching cringed. The girl doubled over, but she wasn't done yet.

"8 Trigrams, Vacuum Palm Jutsu!" Hinata declared. She made a monkey's palm with her own, and Kiba somehow got punched by a vortex of air. He was sent back to Akamaru, and now they began again.

"Let's try hitting her with _that_," the boy suggested. Akamaru whined in worry. "We won't hit her _too_ hard, but we need to do it before our chakra points get cut off." The Kiba clone relented. They did two hand signs and quickly went into a Fang Over Fang. Hinata was confused when she saw their chakra spike, but she began using her best focused defense. White ribbons seemed to be streaming around her, and there was quite the shockwave when the two attacks collided.

"Oh no!" the girl spoke out in shock and worry. She wasn't strong enough, and the girl got beaten back quickly. Akamaru broke off and kicked her in the stomach. Hinata collapsed in a small crater in the ground.

"No way," Naruto stated quietly in partial disbelief. Hinata was stronger than that. What did Kiba and Akamaru do?

"Match concluded. Victor: Kiba Inuzuka," the proctor announced. The crowds clapped, and Tsume smiled. Kakashi smirked too. _"It won't be so easy to beat him this year Naruto,"_ he thought to himself. Even the white-haired ninja hadn't seen the blond's newest jutsu. Everyone would be in for a shock once it was revealed.

The two Grass ninja proved to be a cakewalk for the Hyuuga elite. Everyone had high hopes for Neji. It seemed he'd easily make Chuunin this year. The boy was barely panting when he finished off the water user. They tried to revive him, but with a failing liver, things didn't look good.

"There will be a five minute reprieve, and then the starting match of round two will be Naruto Inuzuka and Yoshino Ukinabe," the proctor announced. That wasn't how the tournament pairings went, what gives? "The other pairs are Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno, and Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee."

"I'll tear you to shreds this time," the boy named Yoshino claimed. Naruto simply turned to him. "I don't know what kind of illusion that was, but you should have killed me then. Since you can't ambush me, there's no way you'll win. I'll pull out your throat and watch as you drown in your own flowing blood." While the picture freaked the blond out on the inside, he appeared stoic enough to further enrage his apparent rival.

"Do what you will," he replied coldly. The air chilled, and even with the Kyuubi's chakra suppressed, a killing intent struck the very core of everyone's being. Yoshino gritted his teeth and turned toward the stairwell. Naruto followed not long after. By the time they reached the bottom, the reprieve had ended. The two walked out to a slightly smiling proctor. _"What is with this guy?"_ Naruto asked inwardly.

"Alright, same rules as before," the man spoke. "Try not to bloody up the field too badly. We just had it cleaned." Naruto was unmoved, but his opponent smiled devilishly. "Begin." The man blurred away, and there were shuriken racing at Naruto almost instantly. He bent back and dodged them effortlessly before rising back up and charging his opponent with a kunai.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he roared. A giant yellow sphere appeared in front of the blond, and he appeared to have run straight into the blaze. "That was too easy."

"Where's Naruto?" Lee asked. Everyone was wondering the same thing. The proctor had on a frown. Naruto blurred to just in front of the Grass ninja, causing a lot of surprise to spread throughout the crowd.

"I knew you were stronger prey than that," the boy spoke sinisterly. His whole aura was ugly, weird, twisted. Naruto threw the kunai, and his opponent simply blocked it with another.

"Boom," the blond stated. The boy was confused until he heard the sparking. There was a bomb tag wrapped around the handle. _"Damn it!"_ the boy screamed inwardly before a flash signaled the explosion. Yoshino was flung a ways with burn marks on one side.

"Very nice Naruto," Shikamaru commented. "That's not usually your style."

"Hm, you're pretty tough," the blond stated. "Guess I can't hold back."

"Come and get it. Flame Wheel Jutsu!" the boy yelled. He jumped into the air before a vertical wheel of yellow and red flames surrounded him. The mass came hurtling toward the blond rapidly. Naruto ran towards the wall. "Gotcha!" Yoshino yelled. Crash! The flames pounded the wall, causing chunks to go flying and even for part of the wall to melt. Above him though, Naruto was running up the wall. He turned, and a pressure wave went off as he charged much faster down at a currently defenseless Grass ninja punk. The blond wound up a heavy punch, but it was just barely dodged, making the ground crack under his force. Yoshino didn't pick up on it, but there was a Shadow Clone waiting since from the beginning. As he skidded backward, he got a few shuriken in the back and his legs.

"What? Damn you!" A kunai took out the clone, and the real Naruto was charging with a Rasengan ready. This one was different though, more uniform. Yoshino threw down a smokescreen bomb, and Naruto found himself stuck inside a giant cloud of bluish black fog. He jumped into the air above, and kunai came flying at him from his left. All were luckily dodged, and a kunai with a bomb tag attached flew back to the target. An explosion ridded the field of smoke, but Yoshino wasn't where his kunai landed.

"Fire Style: Blood Phoenix Jutsu!" the red-eyed boy called hysterically. He seemed to be getting crazier as the fight went on. Naruto saw the giant bird coming, but he couldn't do anything.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he called. Ten Shadow Clones appeared, but they were easily taken out by the mass of fire. Naruto got caught in the blast unfortunately.

"Had enough, greenhorn?" his arrogant and apparently nutty opponent asked. Naruto was standing though as the dust cleared. "Huh?"

"I didn't want to use this until later, but you've given me no choice," the blond stated. In his hands were ten, count 'em TEN three-pronged kunai. He blurred around, and one by one the blades went flying at Yoshino. Shikamaru was stunned by the speed, and Neji was stunned by the chakra work. When nine were dodged, Yoshino was looking in front of himself. The blond flash stepped behind him and stabbed with the large blade, right in his back. "It's over." Golden light appeared again and again, and everyone was speechless as punch after punch fell upon Naruto's enemy from every side. He was faster than any eyes could see. The Byakugan only saw charges of chakra, and relatively weak ones. After a solid battering, and eight of the ten kunai being retrieved, Naruto darted in a yellow flash to the ninth not attached to his opponent, retrieved it, and fired one last devastating punch into Yoshino's face. BOOOOOM! Crack, crack…SNAP, WHOOOSH, BOOM! After delivering the punch, three separate bone-crushing sounds could be heard. Yoshino's nose had to certainly be broken, and apparently so was his right upper and lower jaw. The last kunai fell from his body before he was flung at very high speed into the arena wall. Naruto leaned on his knees and panted, staring at the ground. The audience was silent, and the elders, ninja, and citizens of the Leaf Village were awestruck if not horrified.

"You did it Naruto," Tsunade spoke softly as she put down 4 10s on the score sheet.

"You didn't," Homura spoke softly and in warning.

"He needed a way to win fairly, so I gave him one," the Hokage replied calmly with a smile as she stared at the boy. Both elders had on looks of shock and fear, eyes wide open, lips curled in a snarl.

"You told him?" Koharu questioned angrily.

"I did," Tsunade replied in perfect defiance.

"You have doomed all of us," Homura added. "With the resurrection of the Yellow Flash, there will be no stopping him. There is no controlling him anymore. The Kyuubi must be brought down immediately."

"I told you I cut off the Kyuubi's chakra," Tsunade spoke angrily and hysterically. "That was all Naruto's hard work. If he were using the fox's powers, the whole stadium would be wrecked. I gave him his inheritance so he could become a Chuunin. You have no right to keep him down. He's Minato's son, not some animal meant to be kept in a cage."

"Kami damn you Tsunade," Homura replied. She was defeated as the roaring applause came up.

"Oh my God," Shikamaru barely spoke as his eyes still held fast to Naruto. "I can't believe it. He's…freaking amazing." The other judges were less stunned, but still frozen. The boy's friends were all silent. Kiba looked to be scared out of his mind. So this was the secret jutsu Naruto had been working on? There was no way he could defeat him like that.

"Match…concluded," the proctor spoke in latent fury. He had been betting on Yoshino, and now the demon boy was a hero. "Victor: Narut" There was a cracking sound coming from the wall, and all eyes shot up to see Yoshino dripping with blood, his mouth open as he heaved, breath deep, rage heavy on every pass of air. He limped out of the hole in the wall, and Naruto looked as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Damn, you, stubborn, pest," the boy got out. Naruto just stared at him in fear. This guy had withstood his second strongest attack. Even if he was just barely standing, he had remained conscious. "You think THAT was powerful? (huff, huff), I'll show you true power." There was an eerie silence before his chakra pressure skyrocketed. His corneas turned black, and his ruby-red irises seemed to intensify. (Rubies are pinkish red in color, not orange-red for those of you who asked me if he looked like demon-possessed Naruto.) White kanji hung in two bands hovering, circling his body from his shoulders to his hips diagonally. They moved slowly, eerily. Naruto was freaked out of his mind.

"What in Hell are you?" he asked.

"I'm a nightmare," the boy replied as he grinned hysterically. His body slumped on its side. (knees slightly bent, head leaning to the right, arms hanging. Think of a zombie.) "Now die!" Pinkish chakra began flowing all around him, and he charged Naruto at the speed of a flash step. Without his hearing, Naruto would have lost his head. He got kneed in the chest, losing all his breath before a flurry of kicks sent him barreling into a tree, and then another strong kick hammered into his stomach. "What's wrong? You don't want to play anymore?" Yoshino asked, his midnight black hair rising with his chakra, his voice becoming more crazed, demonic almost. Punch! "Come on." Punch! "Get up." Punch! "You're stronger than this." PUNCH! Naruto's face was a bloody mess now, and he didn't seem to have hope left, but a kunai was driven into the stomach of his opponent. "What the?!"

"We'll go together, damn you," Naruto claimed as he formed the Tiger Seal. "Explode!" A massive blast of fire sent the two flying, Yoshino into a wall, and Naruto out into the center of the field. Both of them were severely hurt, but that chakra surrounding the crazed Grass ninja didn't let up. "I've gotta, end this," the blond spoke as he rose, burns covering much of his body. Inevitably, Yoshino came out with a chunk of his abdomen missing. It hurt to move for either of them, but the blond wasn't done yet. "I, REALLY, didn't want, to use this yet. I've got no choice left though." The ten kunai he used the first time found themselves in his hands again.

"I won't, fall for that again," Yoshino claimed. Nine Shadow Clones appeared, each holding three-pronged kunai. He took a small gasp in nervousness. Blades flew once more, some being blocked, many of them dodged. Some clones got punched out, and Naruto took his shot at stabbing his opponent in the back. "Like Hell," the boy spoke confidently, his voice fully consumed by some presence. A kunai ripped into the blond's stomach and back out the other side, causing his mouth to open wide in pain, and his expression to betray that he'd been severely hurt. "I said I wouldn't fall for the same trick"

"Twice?" the real blond asked as he pushed a knife right into the abdomen of his opponent. The clone behind Yoshino vanished, and the boy seemed frightened. He tried to punch Naruto before the onslaught began, but it was too late. Clones appeared, and hundreds of punches began colliding with his hardened body. Naruto picked up each of the kunai as he readied his final attack. The last one came into his hand, and a streak of blue followed the yellow. "Aekemi Rasengan!" Naruto roared. At such a velocity, the strike was immensely powerful. It was a deathblow in the blond's book. He panted as he pushed with all his might. Yoshino took the full hit in the chest, and before long, like a cannonball, he was shot through the trees at the opposite side of the field, and deep into the wall. Naruto stood there panting before collapsing on his knees. A few drops of blood fell from his lips into the dirt, but that was insignificant. The chakra pressure faded, and the proctor found the bloody remains of the now certainly deceased Grass ninja.

"Match concluded. Victor: Naruto Inuzuka," he spoke softly. There was no cheering this time, but Sakura and Hinata helped carry the blond up the stairs. The pink-haired girl ripped off the tag on his arm, and his wounds began healing up while she tried to deal with the bruising and deeper trauma. Sakura's match was called though, and Kiba told her not to worry about Naruto. Truth be told, HE was worried about what the blond might end up doing to HIM.

Naruto found himself in front of Kyuubi's cage. _**"Wow, even Minato couldn't pull off any of what you just did,"**_ the fox spoke. _**"Rest Naruto. You need to heal up. I have a feeling the worst of your competition is over, but I would not underestimate that mate of yours. He is strong just as you are strong. I will do my best to heal you while you sleep, and your friends will wake you up when the time requires."**_

"Thanks, Kyuubi," Naruto spoke before falling unconscious even in his own mind. Kiba managed to break Sakura's good arm with his Earth Style Ninjutsu. Since Naruto wasn't watching, he could throw everything he had and not risk getting found out. A final high-powered Fang Over Fang brought the Medic Nin down.

"Match concluded. Victor: Kiba Inuzuka," the proctor called. "At this rate, both of them are gonna end up fighting," he spoke to himself. The brunette helped Sakura up, and she seemed both amazed and pissed, but her arm needed treatment. She went to the infirmary.

"Call me out when Naruto starts his next match okay?" she asked. Kiba nodded. Next up was Neji vs. Lee. This battle really tore up the grounds worse than anything else. There were smaller craters everywhere, and one huge one in the center of the field. Bushy Brow had been reduced to his normal attacks as Neji closed his inner chakra gates. Both were in pretty bad shape, but Neji had his chakra on his side. He ended it with 8 Trigrams: Mountain Crusher. (Hakkei: Hasengeki in Shippuuden) Lee was flung into a tree and passed out. Neji went on one knee as his depleted chakra reserves took their toll. The strong kick in the gut didn't help either.

"Match concluded. Victor: Neji Hyuuga," the proctor announced. "There will be a twenty minute rest for all the contenders. Anyone wishing to use the restrooms should go now. The final matches will be as follows: Naruto Inuzuka vs. Neji Hyuuga, and the winner vs. Kiba Inuzuka. Anyone late will have automatically forfeited."

"What on Earth was affecting that Grass ninja so heavily?" Tsunade asked the elders.

"It was an old experiment abandoned by the Third after Orochimaru defected," Homura explained. "Somewhere on his body was a tattoo of kanji, an incantation of forbidden jutsu infused into his body. It is similar to the Curse Mark, but it doesn't have as much power. The risk is the same however when exposure length increases: insanity and loss of chakra use. I am curious as to where that boy obtained such a marking, but it would seem his remains will be able to tell us little due to the severe damage the boy has caused. Just look at the arena too. This will be very expensive to repair. Either you're paying twenty percent, or the boy is."

"And what of Neji and Lee?" Tsunade asked. "They've caused far more damage to the field. I say make them pay for part of it. Anyway, I have to make sure everyone can fight their best. I will return before the first match begins." Tsunade found her way to the sleeping Naruto. The tag was laying next to him. "Smart move. Look at you Naruto. Just grow your hair out and it will be like Minato all over again," she spoke nostalgically with a smile. Tsunade tended to his organs which had certainly suffered damage. It was a good thing Kyuubi's chakra was good at healing just about anything. "Fight hard Naruto, only two matches to go." She rubbed his spiky head before tending to Neji. Kiba seemed to be in fine shape thanks to his jutsu and the level of his opponents. He sat down next to Naruto and watched him breathe peacefully.

"I guess you were always the most unpredictable ninja I knew," the brunette stated. "Every time I try to catch up, you just jump five miles ahead. This'll be fun, and then we have tonight." He kept the thoughts from taking his mind, but Kiba kissed his mate softly on the lips. There was a small mewl, and the blue orbs opened to fall upon the brown slits of Kiba. "Welcome back."

"Hn, when's the next match?" the blond asked exhaustingly.

"You're up against Neji in another eight minutes," Kiba explained. "I could barely believe you during that fight. You're gonna kick my ass."

"I don't think I can pull that last one off again," Naruto claimed. A few of their friends were standing there listening intently. The look between the two was strange. Neither wanted to hurt the other, and as they kissed, it was like an apology in advance. "If I manage to beat Neji, you're just gonna steamroll right over me. I've got no energy left."

"Then have some fruit dummy," Tsume spoke. Kiba sprung up. His mother was hanging from the ceiling. Naruto just looked up at her. The baggie dropped into his lap, and the woman smiled. "Good luck to both of you. By the way, you're gonna have to comfort Kouga for a while after the show, 'cause Hana had to take him away from the carnage."

"Hm," the blond snorted. "Thanks Mom." Naruto ate his berries, and he gradually lit up. The proctor called him down for the match, and he reluctantly got up to deal with the headache known as Neji Hyuuga.

"Got anything to say this time Naruto?" he asked with a tiny smile. Naruto smiled back and held up his fist, straight out toward him. "I thought so." The blond untied his headband, and this confused everyone, even more so when he covered his eyes. Only Tsume and Kiba understood this. Naruto was damn serious about this. The proctor signaled for them to begin, and Neji activated his Byakugan at the first chance. He charged Naruto to gauge him, but the shot at his head missed, the blond's cranium tilted out of the line of fire. "What?!" he asked in surprise. Whoosh! Naruto's uppercut barely missed, and Neji saw the gradual correction as he dodged. It still missed, but Naruto was deadly accurate when he was blind. Neji jumped back. His eyes couldn't tell him what was going on. Everything seemed normal except the tag attached to the boy's body. Upon inspection, it held down the Kyuubi's chakra. "Eight Trigrams," the Hyuuga began. Naruto charged him with frightening speed upon hearing the words. Neji had to exit his stance to dodge, but it was a flurry of attacks that followed. "I can't" whoosh went a fist at his face, just gliding over his nose as his head tilted back. "Rotation!" The Hyuuga could just manage it in his position, but Naruto grunted before getting tossed a ways. There was minimal if any damage.

"If all you can do is dodge Neji, I won't even have to use my other techniques," the blond declared, still listening intently for the slightest sign of movement. The Hyuuga was shocked. A: Naruto had speed equal and in some cases greater than his own, and B: his accuracy had become almost as deadly. If C came into play, things would become much tougher. The good thing about that though, was his rotation could defend against such an onslaught, keeping the kunai more than far enough away.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms," the Hyuuga announced. Naruto switched to almost complete defense as he heard the Hyuuga move closer. "Two Palm." Both were easily dodged. "Four Palm." It moved up and up through the doublings, and the blond remained scratch free for the most part. All of the chakra sealing abilities had been negated because his movement made Neji inaccurate, but a hit was a hit. When the final shot missed, Naruto grabbed the Hyuuga's arm and twisted it, giving himself a lot of leverage to bring Neji to the ground, spinning and digging an elbow hard into his back. "AGH! Damn it," he exclaimed. "Gentle Fist Art: Rejection!" Chakra shot out from his arm, and Naruto was repelled long enough for Neji to get up and kick him in the gut. Naruto doubled over, but not without consequence for a careless opponent. A kunai dug into his leg, and Neji winced in pain.

"Now try dodging me," Naruto told him after recovering from the blow. "Hm, Shadow Clone Jutsu!" About thirty blond-haired copies of the boy stood ready with their headbands over their eyes as well. Neji had on a desperate look.

"I didn't want to do this, but I'm stuck," Neji spoke. He rose to full height, ignoring the pain in his leg which was throbbing. The Narutos charged. "Eight Tigrams: 256 Palms!" His speed quadrupled, and each of Naruto's clones fell one by one. The blond threw kunai, but the Byakugan let Neji dodge them all. Soon all the clones were gone, leaving just the real Naruto to deal with the panting Hyuuga. "Come on. You said you were gonna beat me," he spoke just as sadistically as he did the year before. Naruto smiled.

"Too bad you missed one," the blond spoke. Neji found a clone flash stepped behind him.

"When did you?"

"He was out of range," Naruto answered. Neji found the dangerous kunai in the clone's hand, so he caught it and snapped it at the wrist, causing the clone to scream out and drop the blade on the ground before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. When it stuck in the dirt, the real Naruto disappeared, and Neji got the punch of a lifetime. "Hoaagh!" THONK! The Hyuuga was flung into a tree, and he was dazed. Naruto was coming with a Rasengan, a jutsu the Hyuuga had studied but never fought against. His Byakugan could help him dodge, but if Naruto corrected his swing enough, he'd still take the full blow. And it seemed possible, each of Naruto's punches becoming more and more accurate. The Hyuuga got to the ground and charged toward his opponent. His chakra points were charged, and he began his best rotation as the one-hit K.O. neared. Rasengan and Rotation collided, and it seemed a stalemate until Neji could no longer keep spinning his body fast enough. His chakra dispelled, but the ball whizzed right past his head.

"Sixty-Four Palms!" Naruto gasped in worry, but he sprang back far enough to dodge. He still didn't dispel his jutsu, and Neji was confident he had the blond on the run now. "I'm impressed by your growth Naruto, but without that chakra, you can't win." Naruto kept pushing him back. One good punch connected, sending Neji back a ways. "You've gotten really good with those ears. Guess I can't hold back anymore. Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher!" The two ninja flew at each other, and the two jutsus collided. Inevitably, Rasengan beat Neji back in the end, and the slightly diminished orb finished him as he hit the stadium wall and collapsed with a smile

Shikamaru gave him a 10 in Battle Planning and Special Abilities; he was impressed the blond had become so mature and precise about his battling. Tsunade was pleased, the elders were further disgruntled, and the other judges were becoming more and more angered. All that was left between the blond and victory was his stepbrother. This simply couldn't be happening.

"Victor: Naruto Inuzuka," the proctor spoke out in annoyance. There was applause as Naruto removed his headband and reattached it to his forehead. "Kiba Inuzuka, please step down for the final match." The blond meanwhile had gotten the Hyuuga onto his legs, and they stepped into the infirmary temporarily. When Naruto came out, Kiba and Akamaru stood emotionless waiting for him.

"Good luck," the blond mouthed.

"You too," Kiba replied in the same fashion.

Kouga slept in his basket, and Hana had returned to view the final match. Tsume seemed more focused than at any other point in her life. Kurumaru even had a seat.

"So the pups will become men," he commented plainly. "I wonder who will win, speed or strength?" It was the heated question to be sure. Tsunade was most worried. The blond was exhausted, and he had to take down TWO fighters instead of just one. Naruto was breathing hard, and he hadn't seen any of Kiba's jutsu.

"This is the final match," the proctor stated. "Fight your hardest, and go down swinging. Give the crowds a good show. Shake hands." The two smiled and did as instructed. They broke off and took up some distance. "Begin!" It wasn't expected, but Naruto was the first one to go on the offensive. Kiba ducked a punch and jumped away.

"Akamaru, Man-Beast Clones!" he called. Naruto found the dog charging, claws in all. There was a puff of smoke, and a Kiba clone flew at him. "Pincer Strike!" The blond found Akamaru holding his wrists tightly, and Kiba was whirling in from behind. He grabbed onto Akamaru's arms for leverage before quickly stepping onto his stomach and pushing off. Kiba's clone gave chase, and the whirling form did as well. "Fang Over Fang!"

"Rasengan!" the blond roared as one formed in his hand. He dodged Akamaru and pressed the orb into Kiba as he spun. It was a perfect match, but the pair had better synchronization. Akamaru came in and punched the blond in the side, forcing Naruto away and getting Kiba out of danger. He tried to follow up with a kick, but the blond caught it.

"Raagh!" Kiba roared as he came in with a kunai. Naruto couldn't dodge, but he took one free hand off of Akamaru's leg and pushed Kiba off course at the forearm. He then charged up a punch and got Akamaru in the leg. It was nothing major, but right now he needed a breath. Kiba was coming back though. Punch! Naruto got caught in the side before slashing a kunai at his stepbrother. It missed for the most part except a small cut on his upper arm. The brunette backed off, but the blond dodged Akamaru too. He threw a kunai at the pair, but Kiba blocked it with his own.

"Boom," Naruto stated. The two jumped back, but the blast knocked 'em further. Kiba was surprised by the level of fighting.

"We're gonna have to use _that_ buddy," he stated. Akamaru whimpered.

"**No, that's overkill. He's exhausted. Just go with your own Earth skills,"** the dog told his master. Kiba flipped through the signs for Iron Skin, and Naruto came through the smoke with a heavy punch wound up. The shot connected, but Kiba was for the most part unaffected. Naruto however winced in pain. What hit him next he didn't expect. A hardened fist to the side of his face sent him tumbling.

"Fuck," the blond spat. "When did he" Kiba was coming in fast, and Naruto looked frightened as he dodged each shot. Every one was a miss, and the blond drew kunai to fight back with. He slashed at Kiba, only just nicking him. Akamaru became a problem too, and he couldn't fight both at once. Naruto used a substitution, and after Kiba landed a solid blow to his stomach, a splintering log took his place.

"What the?" he asked. Akamaru warned him of it coming, and a three-pronged kunai whizzed in quickly. Kiba dodged it, but Naruto still came through it and threw shots at Akamaru, causing more damage than Kiba would tolerate. When he angrily charged in though, the blond disappeared. The kunai was still in place! He turned, and a normal Rasengan hit him square in the stomach. The brunette doubled over, but Naruto couldn't push hard enough to cause severe damage. There was some ripped clothing and a small wound from the jutsu, but it had essentially failed against his stepbrother's defense.

"Steel Palm," Kiba yelled before a hard punch in the gut made Naruto's eyes widen in shock as he was thrown harder than even Yoshino had done. His back hit a tree, and he collapsed. The crowd was shocked, and so was Kiba. Had he won THAT easily?

"Get up Naruto," both Tsunade and Shikamaru said under their breaths.

"Match concluded. Victor:"

"Wait," Kiba told the proctor. Naruto's fist had clenched, and he pushed himself onto his feet. A small trail of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, but there was fire in his eyes. "I had a feeling I wasn't done. Come on Akamaru, one last go." The dog woofed before performing the same jutsu as his master. "Get ready Naruto. This will be the last hit."

"Hmph," the blond smirked. He disappeared, but the yellow light betrayed his position. Perhaps he could mend that at a later date. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" About fifty or so clones appeared, and the legendary knives went flying all over the stadium. The blond charged Kiba and Akamaru with a Rasengan forming.

"Come on Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, ready to finally show the blond up. Their arms crossed behind them in the air. "Steel Fang Over Fang!" This attack was faster, but Naruto ran forward with his Rasengan. The two great forces met, but the blond fell into despair as his jutsu was forced back, diminished, and then beaten. "I win Naruto," Kiba called before he and Akamaru crashed into the fox-boy. There was a scream more eerie than the Inuzuka had ever heard, and he fell into despair as the form in front of him was getting torn up badly. His jutsu ended, and Naruto seemed to fly in slow motion without a stomach left. There was a cloud of smoke, a loud pounding sound, and a yelp before Kiba regained true consciousness. He turned, and Akamaru fell unconscious due to a punch in the side of the head. Kiba activated his Iron Skin Jutsu, and as he went to punch his opponent, Naruto used the last of his chakra to finish Kiba off. He disappeared and reappeared many times until blue began streaking with the yellow light.

"Aekemi…RASENGAN!" the blond roared. The shockwave was unbelievable, and Kiba was in shock as his hardened body felt a force stronger than any punch or kick. It was like he had slammed into a brick wall going a thousand miles an hour. Since his defense was heightened so much, the brunette only got tossed. He tumbled and rolled, bouncing until he fell on his back. When he tried to sit up, the blond landed on top of him, holding a kunai to his neck. Everything froze. Naruto sat on his stomach, and he panted quickly. Kiba saw the look in his eyes, and he felt strange. It kept saying "just stop this."

"I win," Naruto stated.

"There is no victory until deathblow or knock out," the referee stated. That bastard. As long as Naruto didn't win the whole tournament, he was happy, whether or not he had to humiliate the blond. "Either kill him or knock him out." Kiba saw Naruto's look drop. Tears welled up in his eyes. He didn't want to fight anymore.

"I can't," he answered.

"Then you forfeit," the man replied.

"I give," Kiba announced. Naruto tensed up in surprise. His mate smiled up at him. "I give up. You win." Naruto smiled, and the proctor nearly lost it. KAMI DAMN LOOPHOLES! The crowds roared out in applause, but the two couldn't hear it. Naruto put the kunai in his pouch before rubbing the melting makeup off his mate's face. Everyone wondered what he was doing, but the blond then leaned down and lightly kissed his stepbrother. Many were shocked, including the Inuzuka mother and sister. The proctor lost face, and the elders were humiliated. Tsunade was a bit surprised, but she smiled and clapped. Shikamaru smirked and wrote down the perfect scores for Naruto yet again as well as Kiba's scores. He got up to go submit the paperwork, leaving the other judges to their gawking.

Naruto broke off with a smile before helping his mate up. That's when it occurred to the citizens of the village where the ring came from. And Kiba's decorative whiskers now showed as well. The two walked into the stair chamber, leaving the eyes of the citizens. Naruto sat on the stairs, ripping off for the last time and tearing the tag which held back the Kyuubi's chakra. He could barely stand, and Kiba just held him close for a while.

"We thank you all for coming to this year's Chuunin Exams," Tsunade began. "All of our contenders fought their hardest, and let us give them all one last round of applause. I realize not many of you wish to stay much longer, so I will wrap this up shortly." More clapping, whistling, and yelling filled the air, and the Hokage was happy the event was finally over. The blond and Kiba found a convenient and safe escape from the spectators, running over the roofs to the Inuzuka grounds. They were sweaty, and their heats were driving them insane. The two went to the small river on the grounds, discarding their clothes on the shore before skinny-dipping in the cold, rushing waters. Naruto found his way into Kiba's comforting embrace, and the two kissed lovingly as their bodies cooled. They fell into the water, but they got back up and splashed each other for a while. Eventually, Tsume and Hana traced their scents back to the grounds, but when the trails did not lead to the house, the two women found it better to leave the two in private for a while. Akamaru had walked off to the house though.

"Hnnn, I wonder who all will become Chuunin," Naruto mused as he leaned his head on his mate's shoulder, the two holding hands between them. They sat on the bank of the river, the grass under them providing a soft blanket. The blond was wiped out, and Kiba could see his mind was now at ease. "I'm glad we didn't hurt each other too badly."

"Ya, me too Naruto," the brunette replied as he nuzzled his lover. As the air cooled and the light dimmed, the two began walking back to their house. When they exited the tree line, just about every Inuzuka family member was standing in a semicircle smiling. "Oooookaaaaay," Kiba spoke, not knowing what to expect.

"Let's give 'em a real applause," the apparent leading man yelled. It was one of the clan elders. They all started clapping loudly and smiling, and Naruto tapped Kiba on the shoulder, making his head turn before his lips were stolen in an emotional kiss. The whistling became more prominent.

"_Pervs,"_ both boys thought to themselves.

"New Chuunin!"

"Champs."

"One of the BIG boys no-ow." The list went on and on. Naruto and Kiba eventually just left to find solitude within their own home. When they neared the place, Kurumaru jumped from the roof in order to pin them in ambush. Naruto shoved Kiba away and kicked the dog in the chest.

"Bas…tard," the dog breathed.

"Not in the mood," Naruto said with just a tiny bit of annoyance laced in his voice.

"Leave 'em alone Kurumaru. They've earned it," Tsume told the black wolf. Naruto met her eyes, calm, analytical, piercing, gazing. She smiled. "You two are…damn…didn't think I could get emotional anymore." There were tears welling up in her eyes. "Oh come 'ere." Naruto's eyes widened in horror, but he and Kiba were stuck in a bear hug in an instant. There constant repetition of "owowowowow" didn't get through, and eventually they passed out.

"Mom, calm down," Hana spoke humorously. "I've almost got dinner ready." There was a spread of garlic-roasted potatoes, tender prime-cut steak, soda, green beans almandine, a rice dish with various peppers, pasta salad, and a couple others sitting on the table. Tsume shook her drowsy sons awake, well Naruto being the drowsy one. When the scent of the food hit their noses though, eagerness rang in the air. Hana set down the turkey and gravy, and it was a feast.

Kiba wolfed down the first drumstick, Naruto getting the second, and he drowned it in gravy. Tsume nearly stabbed through his hand when he reached for a small steak. It was a feeding frenzy, although the brunette helped his mate get food too. The blond was fading and needed sustenance. "Boy am I FULL," Kiba spoke after putting down one final turkey bone. Naruto yawned before finishing his pasta salad. He had been reduced to a zombie.

"Good luck with having a blast tonight," Hana spoke. "Don't worry. You can have the morning to yourselves."

"And I'll be moving out tomorrow," Kakashi explained. "I really gotta say Naruto…I'm proud of you. You'll catch up to Sasuke before you know it. You mastered Sensei's jutsu and took it many steps forward. It's more than a legend now. You'll be the next Yellow Flash, and you'll be even more famous."

"Hm, yeah, the next Hokage," the drowsy, smiling boy spoke. "I used too much chakra though."

"Well, you'll get stronger," Kiba told him. "You about ready for bed Naruto? You're eyes are changing color." Kakashi looked up, and sure enough the boy's left iris was changing. Naruto nodded, and the brunette took him by the wrist and brought him upstairs. They were both getting aroused, even though Naruto was dead tired. Kyuubi had decided to help out his vessel though.

Kiba led his currently changing blond to their room, arousal filling the air of the Inuzuka home. Everything was good to go. Kouga was under Shen and Raija's care for the night. The two boys had done very well in the tournament, and hopefully neither was too tired to enjoy the night to its fullest with the other. Naruto's eyes were fully red now, but Kiba knew it was his MATE in control, not Kyuubi. The brunette closed the door, but he didn't take the time to lock it. "Well, we did it Naruto, twenty days without sex. How's it feel?" he asked in all seriousness.

"How DOESN'T it feel is the better question," Naruto replied. "I'm on edge, anxious, and it doesn't take Kami to know we're both horny enough to make Kurumaru look like the perfectly controlled dog. Now, you've been well-behaved this week, and you did awesome today." He had flipped through all but the last hand sign. "Here's my present." POOF! Kiba thought he'd died and gone to heaven. _"No, that's not until I see him with all nine tails,"_ the brunette thought to himself. But oh man was the blond before him a dream come true. "Now, what are you gonna give your mate who came out on top today?" Naruto asked suggestively, smiling so that Kiba could see his slightly more accentuated canines. The brunette obliged to this god and transformed himself. "Stunning."

"Not anywhere near as stunning as you Foxy," Kiba replied breathily. The whiskers were accentuated on Naruto, but those red eyes weren't the same as the angry Kyuubi's. They held love, even if it was severely clouded right now, happiness, and so many emotions swirling together. Red or blue, it didn't matter. Naruto was beautiful.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or do you want a picture of me without my clothes?" Kiba jumped him, and the two flew into the bed with surprising force.

"Kami Naruto," Kiba spoke in a pant. "I can barely hold myself back."

"Isn't the point of tonight not to?" the blond asked. Both of them were hard, both of them had enough hormones to last the year, and both had noses simply flooding with arousal. What was holding Kiba back?

"Even so, I love you Naruto," Kiba told him. The blond smiled, and then hands pulled down the zipper of his jacket at freakish speed. The article was gone in a corner almost instantly. "Good thing tomorrow's the weekend, because you won't be able to walk in the morning," the dog spoke hysterically.

"I'll happily lose the ability to walk for a while if it means having the time of my life with you, mate," Naruto replied. He began removing Kiba's sweatshirt, and he received a light peck on the lips before his black t-shirt with the leaf symbol on it was torn off of him. Kiba lost his tight white t-shirt, and both boys stared at each other's glistening chests and abdominals. Naruto was still recovering from a few claw marks, but Kiba didn't care.

"You don't mind if I take control do ya?" Kiba asked. Naruto smiled in a way that said "make me proud." He undid the blond's pants, fumbling with the button for a couple tense seconds. Naruto sighed when he felt some pressure get released from his engorged dick. Truth be told, they had both grown, Naruto now at an even ten inches, and Kiba sitting at 9.2 inches. Since they hadn't done it recently, this would be quite the show. Naruto wore his blood red boxers, and Kiba had a nosebleed. If he had been wearing the black leather "foxy" ones, Kiba would have died of heart attack before getting to take his mate anew. Naruto found that his mate wore black silk boxers, and his manhood was already breaking out passed the waistband. This was what their bodies had deprived themselves of for so long. They stripped themselves of the last articles, and Kiba wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and head, bringing them together for a kiss so intense, the two thought their bodies were on fire. Naruto held Kiba by his upper back and his head, and the brunette gradually tipped them over so that he was above Naruto on all fours. The two took a breathing break, and when they resumed intimately kissing, Tsume opened their door to deliver her present of the day to the shocking horror of the boys and the near blinding of the mother. "**MOM!** GET THE FREAKING HELL OUTTA MY ROOM!" Kiba yelled. His eyes were wild and full of passion and anger. Tsume was actually kinda scared to see her son like this. It was like he was in roid rage. Normally, she'd have kicked his ass, but she had received plenty of warning that they wanted to be in private for the evening.

"Sorry, just noticed you two were running pretty low on this," she said, pointing to a fresh bottle of lube in her hands. She tossed it onto the bed beside the two before closing the door.

"I swear she does it on purpose," Kiba spoke angrily. Naruto kissed him lightly, no tongue, and it brought his mate back into a calm. "Thanks, guess it's the hormones."

"No problem," Naruto spoke before he used his tails to lightly stroke over his mate's body. Kiba enjoyed this almost too much. It was so soft, so hot, and so enjoyable. The brunette kissed his mate passionately before placing the new bottle of lube on the nightstand and putting some of the old on his fingers, quickly spreading the solution between his three digits evenly. Naruto knew what was coming, and he moaned rather loudly as the index finger of his brother was pushed into his body. "Kiba," he breathed. The brunette began sucking on one of his nipples as he thrust the finger in and out slowly so as to not hurt his mate. He wiggled it a bit, finding Naruto's pleasure center and making him mew. His second finger made the blond gasp with new pleasure, along with the sudden but moderate amount of pain. The blond was effectively high on his own hormones, and as he laid back, he began speaking in fox, a tongue which Kiba was fortunate enough to know.

"_Mate, love…you. Feel…alive, warm, heart,"_ the blond whispered. Kiba began pushing his third finger into the definitely virgin-tight heat, and the blond lost a couple tears at the start, making Kiba stop entirely to kiss them away. "Heh, reminds me of the _first_ time you tried." Kiba smiled. As animalistic as this was, at least the two were not violent and still held each other above themselves. When Naruto's insides loosened enough, Kiba slipped his third finger in the rest of the way, causing his blond to smile and moan as his insides were stretched out and his mouth was caressed by his lover's tongue.

"Are you about ready love?" Kiba asked calmly about three minutes later. He could still feel his brother being tight, but he felt about as loose as he'd get.

"I, don't know," Naruto replied. That was a first, but Kiba had a solution. He still stretched Naruto as he sat up and spread his own legs toward his mate, and then he drew the three fingers out, causing his mate to groan. "Kiba," the blond spoke as he breathed deeply. Said brunette was putting the last of the sea breeze lubricant onto his shaft, making sure to get a generous coat for the first time.

"Naruto, this way will hurt less, and you can adjust at your own pace," Kiba told his partially scared lover. "Here, I'll help support you, but sit on me." He faced Naruto and lifted his mate by the back so that they could kiss, erections rubbing passed each other, hinting at the wonderful pleasure which promised to follow. Naruto got up and aligned himself with his mate's pulsing shaft. He lowered himself gradually, and he gasped when the head spread him even further. "Shhhhh, I'm here. Nothing will hurt you." Naruto let gravity do the work, wincing every once in a while until his inner pleasure center was rubbed.

"Nnnnn," he moaned. "Maaate." Kiba was in euphoria at the feeling of this tight heat. Their first year had been everyone's first year: fantastic, but to experience once more the claiming of his mate's virgin body was like a hundred Christmases in one.

"I love you Naruto," Kiba spoke out at one point. Naruto had needed to hear this, and so he hugged the brunette as the last inch of his shaft slid inside his body. After a while, Kiba opened his eyes, and he kissed his mate sweetly in apology for the pain and in promise for the pleasure he would share with his love. The blond held him by the back of the neck as he wrapped his legs around Kiba's strong waist.

"Thank you Kiba," the blond spoke for the gentleness. His mate slowly drew out and rocked into him, and Naruto had his tails hold onto Kiba by his back too. He thought he'd happily fall asleep with the gentle pleasure and the rocking motion. The jinchuuriki had certainly earned such rest, but he had also more than earned the love he was currently receiving. "Mmmm," the boy moaned lightly. Kiba was hitting that spot which would make the blond go nuts if it were rougher, but at such a pace, they were mating. The brunette nuzzled the side of Naruto's head, and the blond replied happily.

"I can go a little faster if you want Naruto," Kiba told the boy. He gave an affirmative mew, and the brunette increased his pace gradually, including beginning to stroke his mate's wanting erection. Kiba would have confused the mew of pleasure for a true fox had he not known it came straight from Naruto's mouth. After a while, the blond opened his eyes and kissed Kiba, gradually turning up the lust like the night had warranted. There was no giant spill of hormones except for the undressing, funny, considering what the goal was. Naruto truthfully was spent, but Kyuubi had no intention of their night being ruined. He granted them both three hours' worth of energy in chakra gradually so as to not have Tsume racing in here at a sudden chakra spike. Their intimacy was the only reason this could be accomplished. "Is this okay Naruto?" Kiba asked, his rate being moderate thrusts, three for every passing second.

"Please mate, make me cum," Naruto spoke, lust beginning to show in his eyes. Kiba began thrusting a bit harder, and Naruto moaned. "Kamiiii." He began contributing, making Kiba gasp when their hips began snapping together harshly thanks to the helping legs and tails.

"My mate, call for me, yell out my name," Kiba yelled. The blond could barely even think, but when he felt the great rush of orgasm finally spill through his body, he leaned back, neck exposed, eyes wide, moaning as Kiba thrusted into his now super tight body. White, milky semen shot from his shaft, covering his chest, his neck, and even a line on his face. Kiba howled loudly when his long awaited release came to him, and he deposited new seed deep within his mate. His instincts for once caused him to bite his mate hard enough to draw blood, canines puncturing Naruto's right shoulder and neck junction. Naruto yelled out both in pain and pleasure, and he came all over again, eyes wide as he fell into semi-consciousness. Kiba held his lover by his back with his hands and by his shoulder with his teeth, two rivulets of hormone-infused blood working down the blond's back.

Hana had believed the two were done, so she carried a sleeping Kouga up the stairs. When she opened the door, the woman was mentally traumatized by the scene. Naruto's wide, unconscious, but pain-yelling eyes seemed to stare right through her, and then there was Kiba's stillness and the look of feral lust in his eyes, and then she looked toward his teeth, stained with the blood of his still mate who had two small trails of the crimson liquid oozing down his back

She closed the door in terror, but her entry had gone unnoticed. "Oh my God," she spoke as she slid to the floor, shivering in fear. Tsume came up and found her daughter to be in a state she never believed possible for the collected woman. She looked upon the boys in similar shock, but she was far harder to rattle. "Is Naruto even, Naruto?" the girl asked. She took in a shallow and hollow breath. "Is he even, alive?"

"Well, there's no way in Hell that's Kyuubi," Tsume spoke. "Otherwise the positions would be reversed, and there'd be way more blood. I didn't know they could be that…_violent _though_._" Tsume was shook up, but she was far better than her daughter. "You think we should stop them?" Hana didn't move, only holding herself with the eerie picture in her head.

Kiba lifted off, and the two small wounds smoked before quickly healing up. Naruto began breathing once more, but he was unable to make himself move. That was, until his mate licked his neck and kissed him. "Kiba, I…" the blond tried to speak.

"Did I hurt you?" the Inuzuka boy asked in concern. "I'm sorry Naruto. My instincts just took control and, I made you bleed."

"That was, amazing Kiba," Naruto spoke softly. His mate used his finger to clean the blond's face, but his mate did not appear to be unhappy about his treatment. He kissed the brunette lovingly, and Kiba answered by softly rubbing his mate's back with his tail and strong hands. Once again, he smiled when he heard purring.

"Well, it's your turn Foxy," Kiba spoke with a smile as he drew his limp member from his mate's body. Naruto kissed him, licking for entrance to his lover's mouth. Kiba opened happily and laid on his back in submission, the blond now laying on top of him.

"Alright, but I think I'd much rather take this slowly," the blond spoke before softly taking his stepbrother's lips. Kiba was so enthralled by his mate. Sure, he'd kicked the brunette's ass in their final match, but Naruto had beaten every contender without Kyuubi's help, exposed their secret to the village, and now controlled himself as he began ravaging his mate's body.

Naruto had greater responsibility as the more dominant in their relationship. Yes, HE could take getting bitten by Kiba and getting fucked maybe just a little too hard, but the blond many times worried that he'd hurt his mate. Kiba had promised him the inability to walk in the morning, but Naruto had no intention of hurting his mate so, not that the brunette's intention was to hurt HIM either. What boys would sometimes say….

"You're not gonna break me Naruto," Kiba spoke humorously as his stepbrother lightly kissed down his front and softly kept thrusting into his body. "Come on; your eyes are still red." The blond blushed, and he thrusted hard into his mate's body, making his eyes go wide as he moaned his satisfaction. "Damn I needed that."

"Want some more?" his fox asked slyly. Kiba looked concerned for a sec, but another hard hit to his prostate made him inaudible as he moaned. Naruto began fucking him like he wanted, rough, but not too rough. Just enough to make him go nuts as they slowly climbed to the peak. Kiba began pulling himself harder onto Naruto's shaft with his legs around the blond's waist, and then he moaned even louder when a warm and furry tail wrapped around his manhood and began stroking. "Enjoying, yourself, Kiba?" the fox-boy asked.

"Naruto," Kiba spoke, a smile adorning his face. Naruto used his other tail to ravage his body, massaging here and there, rubbing a sensitive spot in just the right way. The blond took one velvety ear in his strong hand, and he rubbed his thumb over the appendage, making Kiba's eyes go wide as he moaned for more.

"I love you Kiba," the blond spoke before claiming his brunette's lips. He screamed into the kiss, surprising Naruto before his essence streaked across their fronts and part of Naruto's tail. Naruto moaned loudly as well when the surprisingly tight heat of his stepbrother clamped down hard, instantly drawing out his completion. Kiba moaned once more when the wonderful warmth of his mate's seed entered him. The two panted, dazed by lust and from the rutting. The red eyes reverted to blue, but their night was hardly over. The blond licked his mate's seed off the end of his tail before once again meeting Kiba's gaze full of bliss.

"If you were any better Naruto, I'd die of pleasure," the brunette breathed.

"It's good to know I'm that skilled," his mate replied. "Ready for sleep?" he asked with a joking look on his face.

"Hell no," the brunette quickly replied. "One fuck does not an immobile fox-boy make."

"You wouldn't hurt me that badly would you? Not on purpose at least?" the blond asked in all seriousness.

"Naruto, it's just a concept," Kiba told him with a smile. "It's widely believed that after a good fucking, guys can't walk. I'm saying, you're gonna have the night of your life." The blond smiled. At least his mate had the right intentions.

"Hm, I'm craving a blowjob right about now," the fox-boy decided. Kiba perked up instantly.

"I can do that."

"Hm, but let's make it interesting," Naruto suggested, mind now being able to focus on creativity and not just hormone control. His stepbrother looked curious. The blond summoned a shadow clone. "Interesting for _you_ anyway." His clone grabbed Kiba's ass, massaging it just as skillfully as the real blond.

"Ah, Narutooo," he moaned.

"While you're doing your thing, my clone's gonna go to town on your ass," the blond told him. He sat up, and Kiba looked at the boy's shaft, already hard and set for action. "The lube's not toxic, so no need to worry about that." Kiba smiled, but then his eyes went wide as a tongue started probing his entrance.

"Fuck Naruto," he whispered. Kiba felt the tip of the blond's shaft at his lips, so he stuck his tongue out and lapped at it a bit.

"Aaagh, mmm," Naruto hummed as he lightly thrusted forward. Kiba felt the clone's tongue pushing into him. Kami was Naruto amazing. He fully engulfed the head, causing his fox to groan in satisfaction. The clone had finished loosening the brunette's entrance and teasing him, so it positioned itself, hands gripping Kiba's strong ass firmly. The brunette moaned on his mate's shaft, causing Naruto to moan in return as he began lightly thrusting into that delicious warmth. Kiba was enjoying himself. He had double the Naruto fun, and he wanted it so badly. The brunette fully engulfed the fox-boy's cock, causing him to yell his satisfaction as the dog-boy's throat caressed his member. Naruto's clone began thrusting harder and harder into Kiba's heat, and the brunette was quickly erect. A tail fondled his balls, and a hand came down and started stroking him.

"Oooh Kiba, mate," Naruto moaned. The brunette loved Naruto's skill. His clone was hitting his prostate so perfectly, and god could those hands and tails work. Kiba thought he'd release, but the pressure just kept mounting. The real Naruto was certainly nearing completion, and when Kiba felt the thrusts double, he moaned again. "So close."

The clone leaned over Kiba, ramming him like the dog he was. This was what the night was about. Every bit of caution was thrown to the wind, and they were rutting like kings. Kiba felt the clone clamp down on him, giving him an expert hickey. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGH!" he moaned as he kept blowing his mate. The brunette lost his seed in the sheets, a generous amount might I add, and before long the clone was howling from his orgasm. Kiba felt hot seed pool up inside him, and then the clone vanished.

"Kibaaaaaa!" Naruto yelled as he kept thrusting into Kiba's mouth and pulling him faster and faster. The brunette brought the head into his mouth cavity, and his fox shook as he emptied his release into Kiba's waiting mouth. He swallowed happily before kissing his mate. They were both panting.

"Done?"

"Hell no," Naruto replied. "Two fucks do not an immobile dog-boy make." Kiba smiled deviously, and they were at it again. The whole night they rutted, until even Kyuubi had no energy left to give them. They collapsed on each other, Kiba inside Naruto, his arms wrapped around his chest and stomach, a warm, full-body hug. "I love you."

"As I love you, mate," Kiba ended before they lost consciousness at four in the morning.

**Author Notes: Now that we have the longest lemon I think I've ever written and the Chuunin EXAMS out of the way, I'll be taking a short break to write my U.S. History research paper (BLEH). Curse you Mr. *****. Curse you and your ilk. Please review.**


	8. Change, and the Changes Caused By it

**Author Notes: I'm glad you all enjoyed my previous chapter. This is where things will get even more interesting. Some have asked me what the central problem in all of this is. There are two key themes: rising above the darkness around you, and acceptance in general. I have a question for all of you, and I do request your honesty. If you have a talent for and an interest in writing about homosexual relationships of your gender, does this in turn mean you are destined to be gay or at least bisexual? I have had people ask if my boyfriend was my inspiration, and I will admit I'm fifteen and never gone on a single date (girl or guy)q. There have also been bashers calling me a pedophile and calling me "gay ass shit." I'm interested to hear the opinions of my reviewers and fans, and once again, I really do want your honesty.**

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**Tsume:** The woman looked at her clock. It was nine already, and the boys hadn't so much as stirred. "I wonder if I should check for life signs," she mused with a smile. Kouga had been whining to go out to play, and so Hana took care of that. Last night, she had brought the small fox into her room to sleep. The little kit seemed to like her, but he preferred the smell of his master, Naruto being much more like a fox. Tsume was bored; she didn't want to go to the dojo right now, and she wanted to maybe have some fun with her kids. "I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!" she yelled.

Kiba stirred at last. He felt light, warm, on top of something…or someone as the case ended up. Naruto was laying beneath him, chest and stomach towards the bed, but his soft and smiling face was exposed. The brunette had his arms delicately holding the boy's body. He drew out slowly before turning Naruto face up. His heart soared. The blond was smiling, and his entire being seemed to glow in the late morning light. As Kiba held his lover, he felt proud to be the one with him. "I will always love you," he spoke as he hugged the still unconscious blond to him.

"And I will always love you," Naruto responded as he gained consciousness. His mate's body was comforting and warm, curving and molding to his own. He hugged back and rubbed their cheeks together, kindling the feelings they shared as the soft skins moved slowly past each other. It turned into nuzzling, and then loving kissing as the brunette laid his mate on his back. There was a slight hiss from the moderate pain caused from the previous night, but the blond kissed back and basically laid his body open for ravishing. Strong thumbs began massaging his abdominals, and Naruto began lightly arching this way and that. When the seal faded in, Kiba began stroking that, causing the blond to moan from inner pleasure. Their spirits touched as their markings dimly lit up. The blond rubbed the whiskers of his stepbrother, and they shared consciousness, feelings so deep that explanation was impossible. Kiba enlaced his fingers with those of the blond's left hand, the one housing his ring, and the other hand stroked the blond's cheeks before he took the fox in a light and loving kiss. Naruto pushed his hand through his mate's hair, holding them close together.

"So, is this what being with my true mate will make me do?" Tsume asked from the doorway. Faces turned to her, but there were smiles. "Kami damn you two for being so cute. If it weren't for the smell, I'd say you were too in love to have sex." Both boys snuffed just a little at the humor before having one last quick kiss. "I'm bored."

"And what are we supposed to do about it?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"Well, for starters, come down and give your kit some attention so he'll calm down. Then eat your breakfast. THEEEeeen we can discuss plans for the day," Tsume explained. When the two stood up, they hissed in pain from their lower regions, and she burst out laughing. "Oh Kami above that's rich!" she got out. "You two, you two f-h-h-h-h…you two fucked so hard you can barely walk!" She couldn't stop laughing. "That I'd ever see you two like this…oh God Hana needs to see this." The woman was smiling as she left to get the younger woman.

"Want help getting dressed?" Kiba asked his stepbrother. Naruto blushed and smiled. "I'll take that as a yes with a side of 'only if you pleasure me while you do it.'"

"You read my mind?" Naruto asked.

"I know that perverted look of yours any day," Kiba replied as he grabbed the flaccid member of his mate. After a while of kissing and rubbing, the fox and he were hard. Kiba got a new shirt out of the dresser before grabbing the blond's ass and thrusting against his body, causing pleasurable friction between their erections. Naruto moaned, and Kiba slipped the shirt over his head as he did it.

Eventually, all the clothes were on, just not totally on. The two lay on their sides, sucking each other off with their pants just below their thighs. Kiba pumped his mate as he sucked and licked, and Naruto deep-throated him like an expert. They touched each other, rubbing the inner thighs for more pleasure. After a while, the blond got a mouthful of salty, tasty cum, and a moan was Kiba's only signal as he got a fresh load in his own mouth. They kissed, swapping loads before swallowing, pulling their pants up, buttoning, zipping, grabbing their headbands, and exiting the room with awkward steps.

The women were in hysterical laughter as the two came down the stairs, but the two males simply ignored them. They sat down and ate hash browns, sausage links, and some cereal before the blond picked Kouga up off the floor and set him up with a meal on the table.

"By the way," Hana began. "I'll teach you his food recipe, and then we get to make it." Naruto nodded before sitting back down, enlacing his left fingers with Kiba's right, and enjoying a light make out session. "You guys are in your second year already. I thought the cuteness would have died down a bit."

"It's still our first year as mates though," Kiba replied as he nuzzled his lover. Hana rolled her eyes, but truth be told, she had secretly sent a letter out to Sukima requesting the name of the man in her vision and possibly for a chance to meet. Tsume had done the same, but she would never admit it. "Besides, it's about all we can do since the villagers know everything now." The two women lost their expressions, kind of taking on the depressive looks.

"I really hope things work out," Tsume told them. "It's not your fault you look like this, and never forget that there is nothing wrong, sick, corrupt, or evil about this. You two…I can't believe I'm the one saying this. You guys have a truer love than most if not all married couples. At least, that's how I see it."

"And to think, only a year ago, you guys nearly killed me over the same thing," Naruto spoke as he humorously examined the facts. The women once again felt disheartened, but the blond smiled. "You thought it was just Kyuubi going after sex, so when I took it I guess, a little fast…I can't blame you. What kind of guardians would you be if you just let him have flings with whatever guy he meets on the streets?" The women smiled, and there was a knock at the door.

"It's no Inuzuka," Kurumaru spoke.

"Guys, tone it down while I talk to whoever this is," Tsume told the boys. She went to the door and found an ANBU standing on her porch, one in a white coat. "May I help you?" she asked with a certain amount of warning laced in.

"The Hokage would like to speak to Kiba and Naruto Inuzuka," he spoke. He leaned closer and whispered. "I'm here to escort them so that the villagers do not cause trouble." The woman's facial expression did not change, but she scented no lies.

"Hey, Naruto, Kiba, Tsunade wants to talk with you, in her office," she called to the boys.

"I wonder what all trouble we're in this time," Naruto spoke as he got up from his chair. Kiba looked concerned, but his blond's smile was reassuring enough. They walked out and found the elite ANBU waiting. "Shall we?" he asked with energy.

"I should have them back in an hour or so," he told Tsume. The three zipped off, leaving the two females to their worry. Kouga mewed after his master, but Hana took him out for a walk on chakra leash as Naruto had demonstrated for her.

As soon as the trio came into the sights of the villagers, many of them ushered their children into the nearest buildings, even many men avoiding the "filth." Everything was tense and quiet as all the eyes watched Naruto walk…calmly, proudly, surely. Only after a while proceeding their presence did the villagers come out of their positions of "protection" and "careful watching." It was the same just about everywhere except for the occasional smiling villager, mostly women, but a couple males in their twenties and late teens. Naruto recognized a few of them too. So his situation wasn't COMPLETELY hopeless; that was good.

Shizune smiled as they came into the mansion, and they proceeded up the staircase to Tsunade's office. "Enter," she spoke after the customary knock. "It will only be a couple minutes Yuri."

"Not a problem Hokage-Sama," he replied. The door closed, and Naruto examined who all was standing here. _"Sakura, Neji, Hinata, Shino, and Lee. There's Shikamaru. Who are those two old people?"_ he asked himself. Homura gave him a cold stare, and while Naruto didn't give any change of facial expression, his piercing cerulean eyes were plenty of counter fire.

"Alright, I guess proceedings can now begin," Tsunade started out. "First off: congratulations on all of your matches. And congratz on your victory over the whole Naruto." The blond nodded lightly. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you are here, so I will cut to the chase. Each and every one of you has been thoroughly examined, and your scores coupled with the opinions of the judges themselves have placed you all as being capable Chuunin leaders." Everyone's eyes except Naruto's lit up. No doubt was this some act of charity on part of whoever was running this show. "As of now, you are officially ranked Chuunin. In this box are the vests which go along with the title. Wear them with pride, and let other nations and criminals know Konoha shinobi are no slouches. Neji, your scores were the highest overall. Here is yours. Sakura, you were a close second with Hinata. Kiba…Naruto…Lee…Shino." When all seven of them had on their vests, they felt like bad-asses, which they were sorta. Naruto just looked his over. It was a perfect fit, worked with his style, and it was light. The elders kept their eyes on him.

What were they looking for? Excitement? Glee? It had to be **something** they could tear from him. "You will have a few new responsibilities as Chuunin, and one of the first is conducting a lesson at the academy on any topic your assigned teacher wishes. Sometimes you will have to take gate guard duty, and your mission payroll will increase. B-ranked missions may be assigned to you. This means you will have to be even more careful as you take these missions. For now that is all. Naruto, I do need for you to stay just a bit longer." His anger flared inwardly. Of **course** he had to stay. Kiba gave him one last glance before walking out the door with his hands in his pockets.

"What is it Tsunade-Sama?" Naruto asked, more than hinting that he wanted to go. She gave him a slightly coarse look. The elders' stares changed by just the tiniest bit.

"First off, I once again congratulate you on winning the tournament," she began. "As a gift, I had this made for you." Tsunade pulled out of a standing closet, a red robe with black flames and the kanji for "Second Yellow Flash" on the back. Naruto stared at the title and smiled a little in spite of himself. He felt important as he put it on. No one could deny the strength of the 4th Hokage. "You look just like your father." Those words stunned everyone in the room, the elders losing face for a few seconds. _"So they're not completely stone-cold jerks. That's good,"_ the blond thought in humor. Shikamaru smiled at him. It was good he hadn't completely shocked all his friends and maybe been distanced from them.

"There is one condition for your team though," Tsunade began again. "Since you are down a member, we will be assigning one to be with you and Sakura after your presentations at the academy. He is a specialist of sorts, and I expect you to respect him as your comrade and equal until such point as you recover Sasuke. Naruto, you're not in trouble for…kissing Kiba in public," she spoke after glancing toward the elders. "But please be careful. Not everyone is as accepting as we are."

"I've been running all my life, a few more slow pokes won't be a problem," the blond stated. "As per acceptance, you might want to teach those two a thing or two," Naruto spoke, gesturing toward the elders who had on steely but calm looks until he uttered that sentence.

"Insolent boy," Homura stated. "Do not forget we can control who remains a Chuunin."

"Do not forget that I WILL be Hokage someday," the blond ended with a truly dark stare before exiting the room and slamming the door. He shook his head and smiled. The others were kind of on edge because HE had slammed the door to the Hokage's office in the presence of the elders, but their stares fell upon his robe. Kiba was smiling in pride.

"You think you can teach me that jutsu?" he asked as he walked over.

"Kiba, that's the Namikaze bloodline," Sakura chided him. "You can't be taught an ability that doesn't have an affinity in your bloodline."

"So where did they originally get it?" Naruto asked her rhetorically. "It's not a bloodline thing, just a really well kept secret. Maybe after I do this thing at the academy I'll teach you guys. Here, I have plenty of these. One for each of you, practice with them and see if you can figure it out. That's what I had to do." Everyone except Kiba was amazed to receive such a gift, and they examined the blades intensely. "They're really strong, so you probably won't have to sharpen them for a while, but don't lose 'em okay? They're really special to me, in a sentimental way ya know?" They nodded and pocketed the legendary knives. "I'm going back home. Come on Kiba." Yuri was right with them.

The stares intensified as they walked through the streets. The villagers were amazed and appalled by how audacious and pretentious this kid could be. Some fraud and imitation of the 4th Hokage, nothing more. He didn't deserve that title. No demon would be allowed to trample their pride any longer. If it weren't for the ANBU agent, they would have sprung. The unfortunate thing was, not a single one was thrown in jail or even chastised about wrongly looking at the boy. Even many of the police ninja weren't very inclined to give the boy a hand, only a couple. It wouldn't be long before the whole thing devolved into a raging storm of daily chases and attempted beatings. But he could outrun them now. And if he eventually decided he DID want to fight back, he could let 'em have it and not receive rebuke from Tsunade.

"And so the Fates have granted both sides their claws," he spoke. It was a cryptic message neither Kiba nor the ANBU understood. Kyuubi knew it though. His little blond vessel had changed. The hatred was spreading to him too. "One of these days, they'll acknowledge me. I'll be the strongest Hokage to ever live."

"Naruto, don't you think that might be a little much?" Kiba asked. "You can't use fear. I don't want you to become what they think you are." That comment froze the blond in his tracks as they walked the dirt path.

"I can't stand them," Naruto spoke. The other two turned to him. "What do they want from me? Am I supposed to just wait it out and keep rolling with the punches? No! I don't want this anymore. I'm tired of running!" There were raging tears in his eyes. "I'm not a monster! They are! Those people…they…I can't…maaaaagh-hhh-aaagh!" Naruto screamed as he fell to his knees in tears. Kiba was at his side almost instantly, and Yuri watched as he comforted the blond. Naruto collapsed into sobbing uncontrollably. He held Kiba's arms to the point where there would be bruising later, but the brunette just held him, making subtle noises and gestures which slowly calmed his mate down. "It hurts," he spoke with strain in his voice, eyes clenched tightly.

"Shhhhhh Naruto," Kiba told him. "I'm here. No one will hurt you. I promise I'll protect you. Come on. Let's get you home." Yuri was touched inwardly. He was kinda negatively situated in his views of homosexual relationships, but he never let it interfere with his job. This was different though. Where was the normal stuff? The weird kissing? The obvious extreme sexual desire? The girliness? He never experienced them all at once in any of his "clients," but these two had none of the "symptoms." And when it came to the devotion between the partners, it actually existed as one would expect of a married man and woman. Could there really be so much wrong with something so incredibly enlightening and awe-inspiring? Naruto rose, and the pair continued walking toward the Inuzuka grounds. Yuri remained silent as ANBU normally were, but instead of doing it because that was his job, he was thinking things over in his mind. He knew the story of the Kyuubi, but despite the attitudes of the villagers, none of the ANBU, Tsunade, Jiraiya, or other observers could truthfully say the boy had done wrong, had somehow warranted his own treatment.

"I will leave you now," the man in white spoke when the house came into view. "Have a good day Inuzuka Sirs." With that, he darted off, leaving Kiba and his mate in private. They found a hill bathed by the sunlight and laid down, Naruto in Kiba's arms. When they teach you compassion, it is the caring for others who are experiencing sorrow, but that would be incorrect. Compassion is the art of suffering alongside the person who is sad or hurt. Kiba knew himself not to leave someone when he/she was like this, but his instincts reinforced the point entirely. His mate was in pain, and so he was not permitted to leave. Kiba comforted Naruto and offered his help until the blond and his instincts were soothed.

"I'm sorry Kiba," he told his mate as he buried his face in Kiba's chest.

"It's okay Naruto," the brunette replied as he softly caressed the back of the blond's head. "I love you."

"Mate," the boy mentioned. They remained like this, still, until Naruto himself rose to his feet. "Come on. I still need to spend time with Kouga." The baby fox had begun learning his own language. He knew the words for "fox, food, water, lunch, bed, sleep, and time." He had also learned to just let Naruto brush his teeth, because usually along with that came ear scratching or petting. Kouga had basically learned not to annoy Kurumaru. The first time the black wolf frightened the little fox beyond all natural reason, Naruto unleashed Hell on him. That was when the dog acknowledged him. The blond was stronger than him, even without Kyuubi.

"I thought that guy said it would only be an hour," Tsume began when the two walked in the door. "What have you been up to?" She merely looked into the blond's eyes and understood. "Something happen?" Tsume looked at the writing on the back of the robe, and she knew they had both become Chuunin from seeing the vests, but what had Naruto so down?

"The villagers stared at us from inside their houses, clearing the streets before we were within twenty feet," Kiba began. "They hate both of us, and it only got worse when Naruto came back the second time with the robe. I think the elders must have said something to him, 'cause he slammed the door when he came out of Lady Tsunade's office." When Naruto passed Kurumaru, something in his aura freaked the wolf out. He picked his head up with a whine, eyes staring at the blond like he had two heads as he picked up Kouga.

"Come on boy. I'll teach you how to have fun," Naruto spoke before heading out the door.

"Am I the only one who sensed something wrong with him?" Kurumaru asked.

"What are you getting on about now?" Tsume asked in annoyance.

"There's anger swirling around him, and not just the 'I had a terrible day' kind," the black wolf replied. "It's like, hatred."

"It's not possible for Naruto to hate someone," Tsume replied. "You're losin' it Kuru. He's too nice, too soft."

"Kiba," Kurumaru began. "Normally I'd take care of things my own way, but this is something only a partner can do. Watch out for him. Something about him right now doesn't feel right, and it's not the fox demon smell annoying me." The brunette nodded. When he went outside to check on Naruto, he had disappeared. "If he attacks a villager when you're not there, things will get ugly." Kiba was soon gone.

Naruto encountered the same eyes, and Kouga walked with his ears low, nervous because of the atmosphere. He walked toward the academy. Since it was the weekend, there would be no students. Right on the bulletin board was a poster announcing the "Chuunin Experience Education." There was a list of classes and assigned Chuunin. "Oh neat, I get to teach Iruka-Sensei's class. I wonder if he's"

"Naruto!" the teacher in question called. The blond turned to see his sensei beaming to see him. "How's it been? Congratulations on making Chuunin. I put in a special request for you."

"You don't seem mad I ended up dating and essentially marrying Kiba," the blond spoke with a humorous smile. Iruka lost face for a second.

"It was your decision, and like I'd get mad over whom you choose to spend your life with," the man spoke with a soft smile. Naruto hugged him fiercely.

"I was worried you'd kinda snap and yell at me," the blond stated. Iruka just rubbed the top of his head. "So you're not mad at me for…liking a guy?"

"Kiba's a great guy, and he seems to like you too, so I can't complain."

"Hmm," the blond hummed before standing back up on his own. "What'd you choose for my topic for your class on Wednesday?"

"Well, it took me some time to find a good one, but I kinda thought maybe you could do a lesson focusing on the importance of your comrades," Iruka stated. Naruto thought about it, Sasuke, Sakura, his friends supporting him through his current mess and with the Kyuubi for all those years. It would be interesting. "Whadda ya say?"

"Sure," Naruto agreed with a smile. "Just make sure kids actually show up." Iruka took that comment with a bit of sadness. Here the smiling ball of sunshine was telling him to make sure the kids who hated and avoided him actually showed up. "Kouga, that's not what you do to friends," Naruto chastised his little fox, whom Iruka had only now just noticed. He looked own, and there was a yellow stain surrounding his boots.

"NARUTOOOOOO!" Iruka yelled.

**A Few Minutes Later:** "But yeah, Kouga's my little fox to raise," Naruto finished explaining as he pet the purring thing in his lap. He and Iruka had sat down after washing off his shoes, and now things had calmed down. "I need to house train you little guy." Naruto began speaking in fox, and the kit seemed to understand, even though Iruka was at a loss for words.

"Naruto, I just can't believe you're a Chuunin already," the man spoke. "You'll be Hokage before you know it."

"I doubt it," the blond stated flatly. "I'm not popular enough with the villagers or those stuck up elders. Seriously, did they get skipped on the old age death quota or something? They're insanely rude, and then they attack ME for using slightly familiar terms with Grandma Tsunade."

"Well, they were very powerful ninja, and they lived through the ninja wars," Iruka stated.

"I bet I could take 'em both at the same time," Naruto mused.

"Don't get your hopes up. Even Tsunade gets timid around them," Iruka explained. Naruto released a sigh before getting up and placing Kouga in his jacket.

"Well, I gotta go Iruka-Sensei, but it was nice seeing you again," the blond stated as he left the man's office. Naruto just stroked his kit's head with a single finger as he walked back into the main road system of Konoha. The people cleared for the third time except for a few punks who apparently found the lone boy to be fresh meat.

"Look who's out all alone without his boyfriend, eh Boss?" a guy in red hair pointed out. There were snickers on the faces of all who were looking at the blond boy from the sidewalk as he just kept walking emotionlessly.

"Hm, I say we tell him not to go mucking up our territory," the apparent "boss" spoke. There were giggles as they got off from leaning on the fence. They began following Naruto carelessly, and the boy realized it easily. Eventually, they got within ten feet of the blond "nuisance," and the leading man, maybe seventeen years old, spoke up. "Hey gorgeous, wait up," he said in obvious mocking. Eight feet, six feet, five feet. "Hey runt, I said stop!" he yelled. All of them charged in for a "quick brawl." Naruto's form only seemed to skew a tiny bit in the time it took for him to punch them all and knee the leader in the stomach. He just kept walking, and the six collapsed with blood running softly out of their mouths, leaving a few cobblestones red. The eyes which saw the near instant vengeance of the demon container were more frightened than ever. Were they dead? Would he come after anyone he so wished? Was anyone really safe?

"Where is he?" Kiba asked as he ran out onto the streets. The blond was so DEAD when the Inuzuka heir found him. He was closing in on the scent of his mate, and then blood. "Oh no. Naruto!" Kiba turned a corner just as Naruto was starting to turn it as well. They missed colliding due to Naruto's good hearing, and Kiba noticed he had passed his lover, but the sight in front of him put fear in his heart. "Naruto, what did you…?"

"I was attacked, so I knocked them out. Come on. Let's just go home," the blond spoke. He was still walking, still showing indifference.

"The Naruto I knew wouldn't have just fought back," Kiba yelled at him. "He would have run from them and tried to reason, not prove them right! What is wrong with you Naruto? Are you on drugs or something? And you just became a Chuunin. Do you know what Tsunade and the elders will think when, on the day you were promoted, you fulfilled exactly what they have been suspecting you of?" He was crying, because Naruto's safety and well-being meant everything to him. "You're not the Naruto I knew. What happened during the Chuunin Exams?! Was it what the Grass kid said? Did he cause you to become like this? It was that chakra wasn't it? You're drugged Naruto!"

The blond had stopped and had listened, and while he felt guilty for worrying and terrorizing his mate, he felt rejected as well. "So, you think I'm a demon too," Naruto commented as his head tilted forward just a tad. Kiba's eyes went wide. "I hate this village," he whispered. "I have people I love, people I want to protect here. I want to become the Hokage so that I can protect those people, but all I get in return for my efforts is more threats, more hatred, more anger, MORE SELF-PITY! Do you know what it feels like to be angry with yourself because you failed, because you screwed up and your life may be over? I'm not talking about getting in trouble here. I'm talking about the possibility of one tiny mistake being enough to make them all try to KILL me! They want me dead, but they're afraid to fight me. When the few brazen enough to actually beat me do it, they tie me up, because they're afraid of what might happen if they don't hit me hard enough. My life is determined by every little action. I don't want that! I don't want fear to be the thing that kills me! I won't be stepped on because people are afraid! Do you know why I chose you anymore Kiba?" he asked as he turned with tears running down his beautiful cheeks. The brunette was stunned. "You cared. You wanted to protect me, not just use me. I won't be subject to these beatings anymore. I won't kill anyone, but if they want a fight, they've got one. I'm not a child anymore, and I have my father behind me. I don't want power, just true acceptance, peace of mind. All I want is for the crying in my head to stop, for the rain to quit pouring down, for the darkness to stop filling my head with regret and sorrow. Kiba…I chose you because that's the thing you do to me. Maybe having the Kyuubi in me **has** influenced me in some ways, but do you really think I'm a monster like everyone else? Do you really think, that I would go around killing people who piss me off? If that's what you think…then take your fucking ring back."

Kiba's heart and mind tore in two when the blond furiously pulled the golden band off his finger. He threw it at the brunette, and it clinked on the ground four times before coming to a stop. Naruto walked off, leaving a heavy aura in the air, as though everything was underwater, sluggish. "Maybe there is no such thing as love for a monster," he spoke. The brunette felt a clenching in his heart, pain so great it made torture sound fun. His teary eyes fell upon the golden band, his inscription still perfectly visible on the inside. Kiba picked up the ring and held it close to his heart.

"What have I done?" he asked himself. Clouds hung heavy and high in the air, the whole sky blackened and gray. There was yelling ahead, and then it died with the sound of punches. "I've lost you, my mate." Kiba raced home in tears as the rain began to fall. When he came into the house, Tsume asked how things had been, but her boy raced up the stairs and slammed his door before curling up into a ball and letting his emotions roar out.

Naruto sat on the bed of his dusty apartment, clutching his fingers into the sheets and mattress. There was pain in his heart too. Why had he said those hateful things to Kiba? What had possessed him to unleash all his anger and emotion right in the middle of town? Why had he thrown his lover's ring, his sign of undying devotion, back in his face? None of it made sense. "Why?...Why?...WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT!?!" he roared as the tears spilled down his face. "I can't go back to him now. Kami let me go back. I didn't mean it! I never meant to do that!" He wished he could go back in time, punch himself in the face, and redo the whole situation, but the gods do not bless mortals so richly. That night, neither of the two ate, and neither slept a wink. Without the other there, and without mending the broken feelings, there would be no relief. Kyuubi was also kept awake by the instability of Naruto's mind: flooding, receding, filling, draining.

"_**Why did that bastard of a father have to curse us both like this?"**_ the demon fox asked himself.

"Kiba!" Naruto sobbed loudly into his sheet.

"Narutoooooo," Kiba moaned sorrowfully.

**Author Notes: A bit of a twist there. Review please. I do also once again request your honesty pertaining to the questions in the author notes at the top of this page.**


	9. The Truth

**Author Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It seems Naruto and Kiba have hit a major bump in their relationship, but how will it play out?**

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**Naruto:** The Jinchuuriki sat in his torn up bed, fingers bloodied by torn nails from his furious thrashings and gripping in the night. His face was scratched, clawed at in similar fashion. Kyuubi kept healing him though. Wounds this minor didn't require much chakra at all. Naruto hated himself so much. He had called the concern of his mate hatred and rejection, and then he had called the love which had so beautifully bloomed between them unwanted by Kiba. His marks burned, and his heart ached. Was this what it was like, to hate someone? Even if it was just hating himself, the burden was too much. "Kami help me," the blond begged. He was out of tears, his eyelids swollen with crying and loss of sleep. Naruto looked at his clock. _7:00_. He'd have a mission today. Naruto got up, his clothing still on from the previous day. He didn't feel like eating, so he just locked the door to his apartment and subconsciously walked toward the Hokage mansion, still begging for the world to give him an answer. "What have I done?" he asked himself.

Naruto didn't expect Sakura or Kakashi to be there since it was so early, so he just walked toward the red building, hateful people clearing away as he kept moving. After his display and the quick word of mouth of the village, there was no one who'd give him trouble today. He knocked on the door to Tsunade's office. "Enter," she spoke flatly. "Naruto? God you look awful. About beating up those Chuunin and the one civilian yesterday, I have eyewitness accounts. You're perfectly innocent, so don't worry about lawsuits or anything. I assume you're here for a mission?" The boy nodded. "Well, I'll brief you on this, and you can give the details to Kakashi and Sakura when they arrive."

**Kiba:** The boy had been blessed without sleep. His heart and mind were in turmoil. It seemed like everything in the world was slowly crushing him. Where was the boy whom he would always find resting next to him in the mornings? Where was the bright, sunshine-like hair which would always bring a smile to his face? "Where are you Naruto?" the Inuzuka heir asked sorrowfully. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have told you you were on drugs." He looked at the ring sitting quietly on his dresser. "I shouldn't have blamed you. I _do_ love you Naruto. I just…I never saw you like that before. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't even tell you I was sorry….I'm such a coward. Please let him forgive me Kami-Sama," the brunette begged. He sat up, pulling on his shirt from yesterday and his boots before going downstairs. Neither Tsume nor Hana said a word as he walked out the door. Kiba just went, on instinct, to find his mate. He left Akamaru without a word.

People had just begun filling the streets, vendors opening up, early bird citizens coming out to browse, and a few patrol ninja taking up every couple of street corners. Kiba made it off the Inuzuka grounds and started running. Everything in his mind was rushing. If he could maybe just have a few minutes with the blond, maybe he could set things right. Holding the ring in his hand gave him that reassurance as he put it in one of the sealable pockets of his Chuunin vest. People who noticed him didn't run, but snickered, eyed him in disgust. Only a few truly avoided him until Kiba accidentally slammed into a powerfully built man in his late twenties. "Hey brat, watch it!" he spoke in rebuke. When he recognized the boy in question, he got on an evil grin.

"I'm sorry sir," Kiba spoke as he got up. A punch in the face sent him stumbling until his back hit fence. There was some blood leaking from his nose, and then a strong hand wrapped around his neck. He couldn't breathe, and when Kiba opened his eyes, he could see everyone else slowly circling in.

"Hey, you're that demon's little whore, aren't you?" the man asked. Kiba's eyes went wide. _"Oh no!"_ he thought to himself. As he got punched, scratched, kicked, and otherwise hurt, Kiba began to understand it at last. _"THIS? This is what they've been doing to him for all these years? Forgive me Naruto. I could never have known." _Kiba was soon in tears, wishing he had never screwed up, never abandoned his mate, and he yearned for the pain to stop. _"If I live through this Kami, never ever let me rebuke him for being in pain."_

A little after Tsunade had finished the briefing, Naruto's ears picked up strange activity outside. There was murmuring, yelling, laughing, all focused however. He went to the window, and then he shot downstairs and outside.

He ran toward the crowd, and in the center was a kunai raised. It swooped down, and that sound of rending flesh tore into Naruto's ears along with his mate's cry. Everything froze, and then, it turned blood red in his eyes, black and red.

They smiled at their work, blood on the ground, body broken, bruises everywhere. This mob had done well with the demon's little toy. And the best part was, the "demon" was nowhere to be seen to help his little whore, or so they foolishly thought. Chakra pressure spiked in the air, and all heads turned as the cry went out.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naruto roared, eyes orange-crimson and slitted as he charged into the crowd. He was already up to the second tail in Kyuubi's cloak. "You will not take my mate from me!" He clawed out, sending the few ninja who had joined the mob flying into buildings with their flesh hanging open. When Naruto reached the unconscious form of his mate, and he smelled the blood and became enraged. A chakra wave repelled everything around them, sending stones into the air and tearing a few buildings apart. The enraged blond stood on all fours over his mate, protecting him. Tears ran down his face as he stared at the bruised countenance of his faithful lover. A small glint of gold in one of the tiny pockets of his torn vest made the blond's heart ache with more pain. "MAAAAAAATE!" he roared in sorrow. A third tail emerged, and soon it was slaughter on a grand scale. Naruto charged everyone, struck everyone. Every time though, he returned to his post over his mate's dying body. If he was not healed soon, Kiba would die, painfully and alone. Tsunade had come out to a bloodbath and a terrible sight she had never wanted to see: demon-possessed Naruto. He roared as he swung at villagers, pretty much all of them deserving it. The boy noticed Tsunade, and the fury in his eyes didn't waver at all.

"Naruto?" she asked. He just held his position and snarled. The stood between her and Kiba. Nothing was going near his mate, even if his life was at risk. "It's okay. I don't mean harm." The boy's expression changed to slightly more passive, and then leave it to the elderly idiots of Konoha's government to screw things up. Smoke bombs flew at the boy, and he dodged them easily as a smokescreen surrounded Kiba. The instant fearful change in his expression tipped Tsunade off. "Stop! He's just trying to protect Kiba! Can't you see he's hurt?" she asked the two elders.

"I've heard enough talk of compassion and waiting Tsunade-Hime," Homura spoke, the woman in a fighting kimono, her eyes actually open. "He outwitted you, hiding his true state. It would seem we were right to hold suspicion. Koharu, the suppression."

"Indeed," the man in a Jounin vest replied. He unraveled a huge scroll, and the loose end flew at the blond. Naruto dodged, diving into the smoke to pull his mate away from danger. "Follow him!" The boy flew out of the smoke, carrying Kiba in his arms close to his chest. He jumped to the top of the Hokage building and laid his mate flat. Naruto rubbed Kiba's face with the back of his clawed hand and mewled submissively as tears continued to stream from his eyes. The beauty and light of his world was wounded and unconscious in front of him. The cloak began extending toward Kiba's body and breaking itself down into simpler chakra, healing chakra. Unfortunately, his time would not last. When his two opponents appeared, he sprung at them full force, realizing that only by defeating Homura and Koharu could he peacefully rest and help his love. A barrier appeared in front of the two, but Naruto's clawed fist destroyed it.

"Koharu!" Homura yelled in worry seeing her jutsu so easily broken.

"He's mine!" the man yelled as his scroll snaked around the boy's chest. His arms became held down, and Naruto sort of lost balance, but he remained on his feet. He snarled at the man, but he was smiling at his own victory. "Well, it was simple enough."

"So, now what do we do with him?" Homura asked, a small smile on her face as she looked toward her fellow elder, venom dripping from her words. If she could have it completely her way, the boy would be torn open and burned alive. The chakra level in the air rose just a bit, and their eyes turned towards a charging chakra blast. "I can't dodge!" Homura screamed. Naruto roared, and an orb of solid chakra flew at the elders. There was an enormous explosion, and the scroll binding him ripped apart. He smiled before charging the two who had recovered from his attack. "Damnable monster!" the old woman yelled.

Meanwhile, Tsunade had snuck up to help heal Kiba. "Please let me make it in time," the woman spoke as she drew out the kunai blade. Tsunade stopped the external bleeding, but the internal was another story. "Come on, breathe damn it!" she yelled as she did CPR. There was an explosion nearby, and Koharu came shooting through the side of the roof. He was bloodied, and he looked over at Tsunade weakly with terror in his eyes.

"Run…Tsunade-Hime," he spoke before passing out. The Hokage heard a light growl from the blond perched above. With her being so close to Kiba, there was no telling what he'd do. The three chakra tails stretched and shot at her, and she screamed out in fear. Jiraiya instantly appeared in front of her with a chakra shield ready to block the tails. A suppression tag was hidden within, and it did the trick as the tails bounced off.

"Jiraiya, I thought you'd left," the woman spoke. "Where is Homura?"

"She's only unconscious," the man told her. The tails swung again, hitting much harder, causing the man to grunt. "Get Koharu-San healed, and then focus on the boy. He'll be fine now that he's breathing." Naruto roared and charged in, but the toad sage outmaneuvered him. It became a match between the two, student and teacher, and the student had the edge. His punches were insanely powerful, and his speed was not something to be reckoned with. "Wake up Naruto!" All there was in return was a roar as a chakra blast sent the man flying. Naruto charged back to find his mate. Tsunade was over him again with flowing chakra. The blond closed in, but before he could claw the woman, Jiraiya hit him with a suppression tag. "There," Jiraiya panted, a small trail of blood going down the side of his face.

Naruto's body twitched as the cloak receded. "No…mate. Get…away from him!" There were tears in his eyes as he began losing consciousness. "Don't…hurt," he begged. Before Naruto lost consciousness, he saw Kiba's eyes open just a little, him staring at the crying blond.

"Na-ru-to?" Kiba breathed. He saw the crimson eyes, and the tears, so his conscience began waking up in fear. His mate however, apparently held no anger, only pain and worry.

"I love…you," was the last the blond got out before collapsing, falling forward as a crystaline tear took to the air.

Kiba's eyes went wide, and he caught the blond boy in his arms as he fell forward. There was destruction all around him, and he himself was still pretty banged up. "Naruto, why did you? There was that guy, and those people. They were hitting me, and I got stabbed." Kiba began adding it up. His mate had seen it hadn't he? Damn! If only he was stronger, strong enough to fight off a crazed mob. "Oh Naruto. I'm always the one screwing up! Wake up Naruto! I'm sorry I blew up on you, but damn you if you think I'm not gonna stop caring you idiot. Baka! I DID care! I just…didn't know what to say." He was crying too now. His anger at himself and his sorrow over his pained mate were however, slightly relieving. Their bond was not broken, and these intense emotions...it all began healing for the brunette, slowly, but his conscience was now clear. He loved the blond, no doubt!

"He'll be alright Kiba," Tsunade spoke. "It's the villagers and maybe the elders who won't be. If those two hadn't jumped in, it would have ended much sooner. Did you two have a fight?"

"Ya, I didn't know what to do when he beat up that one group of Chuunin yesterday. He wasn't acting like himself," Kiba explained, still desperate and sniffling. "He even threw my ring in my face, saying maybe there wasn't any love for a monster. I didn't know what to do. I was gonna try and work it out, and now this. He must hate me."

"He was protecting you," Jiraiya spoke up.

"Ya, he stood over your body and tried to keep everyone away," Tsunade explained. "I don't know. I think you still mean _something_ to him. Maybe you should just get him back home, **your** home. Talk things out. I'll handle things here." Kiba nodded. "Take the rooftops," the woman told him, receiving another nod. The brunette carried Naruto piggyback as he flew over the roofs.

"We're going home Naruto, both of us," Kiba spoke as the Inuzuka grounds came into view. A tear ran down the blond's cheek, even as he slept. "I won't lose you again. I'll make things right, but at least you're safe." The brunette got him to the house, and once again the women left him alone considering his state as he carried Naruto upstairs. "Wake up Naruto," he spoke seriously after laying the blond on the bed. The blond scrunched his eyes a little bit and groaned before waking up to find Kiba staring down at him. His face was filled with surprise, and then fear and sorrow.

"Why?" he asked as tears spilled forward. Kiba was curious. "Why did you bring me here?" What, was he gonna berate him AGAIN? "I don't deserve you." Now THAT comment was a shocker. "I'M SORRY KIBA!!!" he wailed before turning away and curling into a ball. "I was so angry. I couldn't think straight. I insulted you. How could I call your love a lie? It's all my fault!" He was shaking and crying heavily. Naruto was THIS sorry? "I can't do anything right! I could never talk right, find the right words. I failed you. I screwed up and now you hate me." There was a long pause. "I can't love someone correctly either. I'm just a…monster." Kiba just stood there, expressionless, but passionately thinking, for a long time as his mate cried and shook in agony, repeating how terrible he was and how unworthy he was of Kiba's grace. He had had enough. The brunette got onto the bed. "Just beat me. Please, let it end," the blond begged. Warm arms that had been needed for so long wrapped around his body. "KIBA I'M SORRYYYY-HY-HYYYYY!" (You know how sometimes you sort of cough when you cry, not exactly, but a pause? You shake and maybe the whine or moan gets cut off before continuing) "I'm so stupid. I love you. I DO Kiba! I'm sorry. I'm...."

"I won't ever stop loving you Naruto," Kiba recited. Naruto turned and buried his face in the brunette's chest, letting fresh mournful howls stream out. "Shhhhh. I'm here, and so are you. You're safe, and we're together again." The blond sobbed into his mate's clothing for over an hour, and the whole time, Kiba held him close. "I won't ever go back on my word," he said as he took out his ring. "That's a promise." Naruto's eyes gained a new light when he saw the gold band. When the ring was replaced on his finger, he held Kiba tightly. The tears didn't stop, but he felt somewhat right again. The giant hole in his heart and the heavy uncertainty had vanished. "I will never abandon you, never hate you, and will never reject your love. I won't ever be harsh with you, hate you, or diminish you."

"But I…I did it to you," Naruto got out as he felt rightfully guilty.

"I did too," Kiba admitted, a couple tears losing themselves from his calm face. "But never again. We BOTH screwed up. We're teenagers; it was bound to happen right? Just promise me you'll be ready for punishment if it ever happens again. I love you, and I forgive you. Do you forgive me?"

"Punish me Alpha," Naruto asked him. "I deserve it. I threw your ring at you, broke your heart. Please, make me feel better…punish me please."

"Naruto, I" Kiba began before being cut off. He really didn't want to do something like that to Naruto. His instincts wouldn't allow it right now.

"Do it, or the guilt won't leave," he claimed with a now strained voice. Smack! A clawed hand both slapped and scratched the blond's face, causing him to sort of yelp in pain, but there was a teary smile not long after.

"There, that's your punishment Naruto," Kiba told him. Since his mate had given him reasons, his instincts told him to fulfill his love's desires. Truth be told though, Kiba felt like he should have been the one punished.

"Mate," the blond mewed as he cuddled into his stepbrother's welcoming warmth. Things were right again. They were together, their torturous separation over.

"Think he learned his lesson?" Hana asked her mother as she petted Kouga in her arms. They stood just outside the boys' door.

"What lesson?" Tsume asked her. "There's no lesson, no revenge in love, just efforts, mistakes, and compensation. If it was just one rejecting the other, I'd have smacked someone by now. They both made a mistake; it's just that Naruto believes he did worse, and that he shouldn't be forgiven. I expected little fights here and there, maybe a separation period from one bad one, but this was just sudden, quick, and very painful for both of them. Naruto I've learned only wants the security of love, something he never had before Kiba. He was right. When someone or something really precious to Naruto is threatened, he loses face. Either way, just let them heal."

"When did you get so soft Mom?" Hana asked.

"Don't push it," the woman stated dark enough to make her lose face. "But, I saw my mate. He'll be here tomorrow if what Sukima wrote holds true. His name is Rashin. The rest you'll just have to wait for," Tsume claimed with a mysterious smile. It spoke "you'll see."

That entire day, the two boys just stayed in bed, holding each other, Naruto letting a tear fall from time to time. Neither one ate, neither one slept, neither one spoke. They only fell asleep after ten, and what surprised Tsume and Hana the most was that the scent of heat never made it into the air. The air remained pure, washed clean by the rain...the boys' love, the same.

**Author Notes: Okay, I revised it. Review if you want.**


	10. What it Means To Be Mates

**Author Notes: Well we're back Tom, and what a beautiful day we're having. The birds are in the trees chirping away, the little ferrets are running about, and OH MY GOD! IT'S THE KYUUBI! Oh wait, that's just Naruto.**

Naruto: "Hey Doc, whacha talking about?"

**Oh nothing, I was just explaining how you're the ultimate anime star.**

Naruto: "Really? Cause from what I heard you just called me Kyuubi at the top of your lungs."

**I'll be running now.**

_Kiba: "While my mate is currently killing the writer of my officially favorite fanfic ever…. Seriously, I can't thank Paradox enough for letting me come out of the closet securely. Being Naruto's mate is awesome, and he isn't mad because I'm technically bi. I mean, just look at his ass. Cute and sexy right? And it's aaaaaallllll miiiiine." (Perverted smile). "Anyway, I guess I'll be posting the new chapter since Paradox is now in a coma."_

Naruto: "Jerk." (Toward Paradox) "Anyway, I didn't catch that Kiba. What did you say about my ass?" he asks in genuine curiosity.

_Kiba: "I said it was cute, sexy, and all mine,"_ he replies, stepping closer to his stepbrother seductively.

Naruto: "Kibaaaa, you naughty dog you," he replies with an equally seductive smile. "Going by the cock trying to tear open your pants, I'm guessing you would like my ass right now?"

_Kiba: "So very much,"_ he replies as he completely closes the distance between them, deeply kissing his mate and massaging said ass with both hands. They begin walking off toward the house. _"Oh! Before I forget and start pounding my stepbrother's ass into our bed, here's your chapter," Kiba speaks before tossing the pile of paper at the audience. Not long after they enter the house, loud moaning and slapping sounds can be heard. Then there is howling. Must have been one good orgasm…._

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**Naruto:** He opened his eyes suddenly. Was it all a dream? It didn't seem to be his own room he was sleeping in. "Kiba?" the blond asked before turning his head. This moment, which had become routine at one point, now hit the blond like a ton of bricks. He was wrapped in his mate's arms, the brunette still sleeping. Naruto began crying in joy. A tear hit near Kiba's left eye, causing him to twitch and effectively wake up.

"Nnnnnnngh, Naruto?" he asked after opening his eyes. When they focused and saw the tears, he became concerned. "Naruto, are you okay? Why are you cry" He was instantly embraced by the half naked blond. (chests bare, but pants on)

"It's not a dream," the blond whispered to himself. "It's not a dream." Kiba understood as his markings echoed feelings of uncertainty and expressed that he should be doing something. He hugged Naruto softly and reassuringly, rubbing the back of his head and nuzzling him. "I'm sorry Kiba."

"Naruto, I love you," the brunette replied. "Come on. You're here now, and we're together. Nothing else matters. You even had me punish you. I forgive you, mate." Their marks glowed softly, and Naruto smiled genuinely into his lover's face. Kiba wiped away the last of his tears, and then Tsume barged in with a small smile.

"Alright you two, enough mush. Get downstairs and eat your breakfast, and Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura are here," the woman stated. "They're saying you have a mission briefing from Tsunade." The boy's eyes widened.

"Oh man, I got that mission YESTERDAY!" the boy exclaimed. He climbed out of bed faster than one would believe before getting a new shirt out of the dresser. He chose a middle red shirt with a fox on it. Then he put on his jacket, Chuunin vest, considered his robe, but then just folded it up.

"Welcome back Naruto," Hana spoke as she came in with a slightly larger Kouga in her arms. She let the thing down, and he sprung up at Naruto, who managed to catch him before a long session of sniffing, licking, and mewing took place. "I found the time and made some new food, but you are entirely responsible for the next batch. I made a card."

"Thanks Hana-Neesan," the blond spoke before telling Kouga he had to leave in fox. Apparently the little orange thing wasn't very happy, because Naruto had already been gone an entire day plus some more. "I promise I'll play with you after I get back."

"That's more than five days from now Naruto," Kakashi explained as he came up the stairs. "We're going over to the Earth Country to help handle some sort of political escapade aren't we?"

"Don't remind me," Naruto replied as he set his kit back down. He went into a full explanation, and it ate up twenty minutes. "So yeah, we're technically supposed to be there tomorrow."

"Then get moving," Tsume commanded him. "Sit, eat a plate, pack, and get rolling." Everything flew so quickly, and then, before they knew it, Naruto and Kiba were separating again.

"Hey Kiba?" the blond asked as they were heading out the door.

"Yeah?" the brunette asked back. There was a pause as Naruto looked down to find the right words.

"I'll miss you," he said in a tone that shook Kiba's being. Naruto seemed down, very down.

"I'll miss you too," Kiba replied, the tone being perfect apparently, as Naruto lifted his head with a partially open mouth. He smiled before turning and leaving.

"Jeez, you and your mush," Hana commented. "I need a freaking shovel. You guys have had week-long missions before."

"They just broke up and got back together," Tsume replied from inside the house. "Naruto feels like crap, so he needed to feel like he could come back and still be on good terms with Kiba even though he hasn't had the chance to really make himself worth it yet."

"I don't think I'll ever understand guy love," the girl sighed.

"Well, you just have to understand romance in general," her mother replied. "Most guys would feel the same way if they did something to really anger their girlfriend or wife. But yeah, lighten up on the mush. If he's sorry as Hell, forgive him and move on. You're quite obviously not going to cheat on him while he's gone, so a simple goodbye and a kiss would suffice, and you guys could just snuggle up on the couch and watch TV from time to time. The mush just gets to be too much."

"Either way, I've probably got a mission too," Kiba spoke up. "Come on Akamaru," he announced. There was no response, so he whistled. Where was that dog? "You seen Akamaru?"

"Nope, but you could probably follow his scent and find him," Tsume told him.

In truth, Akamaru was out in the woods a ways, waiting intently for an answer. **"Hey, you out here?"** he asked in his best English. Kiba didn't even know he could do it, not that it mattered anymore. Naruto could speak dog.

From a burrow beneath a tree, a stunningly nervous and rather elegant fox emerged, his reddish gold fur glaring the sunlight powerfully. His yellow eyes caught Akamaru's dark ones, and they shied away. "Ya, I'm here," he replied, "just like I promised." Akamaru smiled, and that made the fox a bit less nervous.

"**Well, I still don't know you're name,"** he spoke. **"Mine's…Akamaru."** The name seemed to appeal to the foreigner's ears. He smiled, and he blushed, even though the handsome young white dog in front of him could not see it. **"Look, I know this is so different, so…weird, but I"**

"Isamu," the fox spoke, cutting the white dog off completely. Akamaru was frozen. "My name's…Isamu, courage." It was a wonderful name. "Look, maybe we just got the wrong visions. I mean, look at everyone else…no one else is like this."

"**I'm not afraid,"** Akamaru declared softly, bringing the fox's head back up in a snap. **"Maybe…maybe we are different, but right now, right here, it feels right. I do not know you enough yet to forge a bond as powerful as being a full mate, but I wish to learn. I…I think…you shouldn't care what everyone else thinks or says,"** Akamaru spoke with conviction. **"My master's mate was the same as you, worried that he'd lose everything if he chose to acknowledge such a forbidden concept. Humans, like us, except for our masters, seem to be distasteful of people like us. It's not right. My heart is telling me that I love you, and I think I should listen to my heart. I won't ask for sex from you."** The fox became wide-eyed. Was this for real? **"But, I think we need to learn about each other, before we can call our bond love. Will you, at least try for me…Isamu?"**

The fox was stunned. "Well…as long as you're not going to just be pissed at me, I guess…we should at least try to be friends," he spoke. Both of them smiled.

"Akamaruuuu!" Kiba called. The white dog was torn from the moment, but he gave his new friend one last smile before turning and running in the direction of his master's voice. "Hey, there you are buddy. What's up?" Akamaru merely woofed at him as they started the trek home. "Man, it's going to be boring without Naruto around."

"**Well, we can take care of Kouga, and I'm sure you'll have a mission,"** the white dog claimed. Kiba nodded. **"I think he's still worried that you might leave him."** The brunette stopped. It wasn't like he berated Naruto at all in the last couple of hours, but his heart just wasn't there that day. If he could, he'd just go run out and join the blond on his mission. **"Kiba, do you know that scent?"** Akamaru asked as they neared the house. The boy didn't recognize it, but he could smell his mother, and Kurumaru, which meant whoever this was had to be important enough or friendly enough to not get eaten by the massive wolf. Runkai was here too.

"Hey Mom, we're back," Kiba called as he entered the house. There was no response from his mother from inside the kitchen. The scent of fox finally made itself known, and the brunette found a new Kitsungen family member sitting at the table enjoying a conversation with his mother. Both of them were smiling, and a lean fox sat loyally by her master's side.

"Oh, hey Kiba," Tsume finally replied. She seemed to be quite calm and…distracted? "Meet Ishiro." The man smiled lightly. He seemed a nice enough guy by his smile, but Kiba scented strength too.

"Oh, so this is the guy your vision showed you?" the younger brunette asked. Tsume nodded. "Glad to be of service. Ishiro right?" The man nodded. "Sorry Naruto isn't here right now, but you'll meet him by the end of the week. Figures he's got a mission the day after we got back together."

"Romance troubles?" the man asked in a bit of a flowing voice. It was a rich voice, conveying passion, and strength. Kiba could smell the second part. This guy didn't give off a powerful aura really, but he smelled almost as strong as his mother, definitely the equal of if not the better of Naruto. Kiba nodded. "Well, I must thank you and…Naruto?" The brunette confirmed with a nod. "Thanks for…doin' it." Tsume smirked and giggled. Kiba blushed, and he heard Akamaru snickering.

"That one wasn't us…_doin' it,_ but we were being intimate at the time," Kiba spoke. "Well, I'm probably gonna end up with a mission. By the way, if you don't want your balls cut off from day 1, you might wanna keep the dogs downstairs quiet. Momma don't like pervs or assholes."

"I'M GONNA SKIN YOU ALIVE KIBA INUZUKAAAA!" Tsume screamed as she charged her own son. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Shadow Clone? Why the heck would he use a Shadow Clone?" She turned to Ishiro blushing and fixing himself. "Although, I guess his advice was legitimate. Last guy who made a move on me tried to force me. Let's just say he never returned to Konoha, and he probably will never have a wife. His pride was in shreds." The man was sweating, probably intimidated. "If you're my true mate, then this shouldn't become an issue. I won't be perfect, and neither will you be, but as Kiba put it 'keep the dog downstairs quiet until the church bells quit ringing.'" There was a long pause before she reopened with "would you like some lunch?"

Kiba noticed Akamaru had the faint smell of fox on him, but he chose to ignore it, even though he had an idea of where it came from. "Well, I guess we're off to Tsunade's. The guy's been warned, and I'm not worried about Mom. You think you're gonna talk to this guy soon?" he asked his furry friend. Akamaru whined in nervousness. "I'm just saying, the longer you put it off, the more meaningless it will get. I'm not saying bang him in the first week, but don't just let everything slip by."

"**I get it,"** Akamaru told him a bit out of annoyance and a bit out of nervousness. **"Ya, I'll talk to him."** Kiba smiled, and Akamaru eventually did too. The next few days progressed quickly for Akamaru, but Kiba felt it dragging. He missed his mate dearly, and seeing his mother being even remotely romantic with this guy they'd both just met only made it worse. Akamaru however became very cheery as his mate opened up, explaining his past, telling Akamaru he was handsome, and so on. Kiba knew Akamaru was getting closer to his own mate too, the smell of male fox drifting with him every day. Hana asked about it, but Kiba had no answers for her. It was on the sixth day that he felt Naruto enter the village, and he sprang up happily to go meet him. Akamaru was off somewhere with his mate, so Kiba thought he could get a few private moments with his love. There were shouts and yelling coming from the main square of Konoha, and Kiba felt something he knew he shouldn't. Naruto was in pain. Kami, what had the villagers done to him this time? Kiba saw orange and red mixed together in the fur of foxes laying on their sides, Kitsungen family members beaten up, and a dense circle of people all standing over what he knew, even if he couldn't see, was Naruto.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kiba roared as he went into a Steel Fang Over Fang. Pretty much the entire group dispersed, and Kiba stopped as he smelt his mate's blood, far too much for what he knew to just be the general beating. He turned his head slowly, and terrorized tears trickled down his face when he saw the condition of the body. "No…" The boy was laying on his back, a long gash going from his left shoulder to his right hip seeping with blood, little trails leaking from his mouth, and stab wounds painting his stomach where his seal was totally visible. His legs had been gashed, his arms pounded. Naruto was a wreck! And that face! Cerulean eyes let tears escape them as the boy turned to look at his lover. He was terrified, but the look on his face relayed only apology. "Naruto?" Kiba asked with a choked voice.

"Ki…Kiba?" he asked breathily.

"I'm right here Naruto," the brunette replied swiftly as he took one hand in his two, holding he blond tightly.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep my promise," he spoke, more tears spilling. "Kyuubi says there's nothing he can do. I'm too hurt. Just make sure (cough + blood spurt)…that the last of the Kitsungen find shelter."

"No, you'll make it Naruto," Kiba cried quietly. "You always make it. You're the Second Yellow Flash." The brunette didn't even pay attention as his friends surrounded them, blocking the villagers from doing anything stupid. Ino and Sakura checked him, but they couldn't possibly repair all of this. His body was too weak for it to survive on such blood loss; he was too exhausted. "You can't die. You kept your promise. You apologized. I forgive you, but don't die on me Naruto," he spoke as his tears spilled freely. "I promised you I'd always love you and no other. Don't you dare leave me all alone!"

"K-Kiba," the blond began as he gurgled on his own blood. "It'll be okay. Death is just the beginning of a new adventure. Besides, you know I will always love you, even if I can't touch you, or if you can't hear me." He was steadily becoming quieter. "We kept our promises, and now let me keep mine." Kiba began shouting at him as Tsume, Ishiro, Hana, Akamaru, Isamu, and Kouga all came onto the scene to be shocked and horrified. A villager attempted to kill Kouga, but Akamaru bit off his hand and set him running, spitting the joint out in distaste.

"I swore I'd protect you and love you. I'm not gonna abandon you now!" he yelled. Suddenly, there was a warm feeling in his soul, and then there was intense pain as his body tore open on its own, in the same places Naruto's had been damaged. "Kahaaaack!" he coughed as his blood spilled over his mate and onto the ground.

"KIBA!" Tsume screamed. He raised a hand out to her though, telling her not to approach.

"I CHOSE you Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki Inuzuka. I won't leave you," the brunette declared passionately. Everyone was stunned by those words.

"Ki-ba," Naruto barely got out. The brunette brought their lips together passionately, wanting his mate to leave knowing he was loved, feeling happy. At first their marks glowed, but then both of their bodies were consumed in light. It was only after Kiba collapsed in death that the result was shown.

"What the…Hell?" Tsume asked as she cried. "But they….What's going on?"

"They shared…everything," Hana spoke. The two boys laid there, but their bodies were in the wrong clothes. "Naruto" was smiling, and "Kiba" appeared to be dull and lifeless in emotion beneath him. It took people a while to notice the cloaked man sitting next to the two bodies, staring at clawed hands. Kouga sauntered up to him and mewed, just as Tsunade came out to find the scene. Kyuubi turned and lightly petted the tiny fox, not even a year old and having already lost its mother AND master. Kouga pushed into the touch. Kyuubi had been what gave Naruto his fox-like aura, and so Kouga felt Kyuubi to be his master, even if his smell was entirely different. As Kyuubi pet him, the hood of his cloak fell, and all of Konoha's eyes fell upon his head of soft, regular cut red hair, pale skin, and ruby red eyes which held sorrow.

"No…way," Hana spoke, lifting an arm and pointing at two translucent characters who were surrounded by tiny lights. "Naruto? Kiba?" she asked, gaining Kyuubi's attention. He stood up quickly in shock, and the rest of his cloak fell to reveal him in a crimson silk robe with nine flowing tails behind him. The villagers became very frightened and moved away now that they understood who this was. Kouga ran up to Naruto and circled his legs, unable to smell or touch his master. He mewed in curiosity as he stared up at that smiling face. Everyone looked upon the pair in surprise. Naruto and Kiba sported canine ears and tails, Naruto's a vibrant orange with black tips, and Kiba solid chocolate brown. "How come you're"

"Changed?" Naruto asked, his voice sounding normal. It shocked everyone that a spirit could so easily speak. "I have no idea, but I don't care." He leaned down and told Kouga to go with Akamaru. "Hey Akamaru," he spoke, gaining the white dog's attention. "Keep an eye on Kouga. Raise him to be as strong as Kurumaru, and then some." The white dog nodded, and Isamu took Kouga under himself. "Hana?" The woman instantly snapped out of her shock. "I'm sorry I have to leave one more in your care, but I wish you good fortune. I will miss you. Mom, thanks for taking me into the family. Sukima-San is dead, so watch over the Kitsungen. Akatsuki came after the Jinchuuriki in the Village Hidden in the Stones, and you can see what happened, and a bit of what Konoha did. I know you'll do fine, you and your fiancée….Kyuubi?" That was the last confirmation the village needed before giving the demon many hateful and fearful looks. "I guess you're free now. Go to your mate. I wish you a wonderful life. I know Konoha never treated us well, but try to find it in your heart and protect them."

"Naruto," Kiba began as he took his mate's hand softly. Naruto lost some of his luster in his look.

"I'm sorry my friends, but we've gotta go. I'll miss all of you," the blond spoke before little fragments of light began separating from him and Kiba. Sakura screamed out one sentence as they kissed and disappeared.

"I'll miss you too Narutooooo!" she cried, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Everyone was crying, and when Tsunade was given all of the facts, she arranged for the Kitsungen integration as well as a private funeral for her favorite shinobi and his equivalent husband. She read the ring and nearly died of sorrow and passion. It was beautiful, and she would never forget the inscription. Kiba loved Naruto more than she could ever understand. Maybe he really _wasn't_ meant to keep carrying the burden, but it was a heart-wrenching day that the most prodigious shinobi Konoha had ever seen died from the very hate he had pursued and nearly succeeded in diffusing.

"Goodbye Naruto, Kiba," Tsunade spoke as the double coffin was lowered into the ground directly in front of the KIA monument. Jiraiya held her hand soothingly as the Hokage broke down into hysterical crying. Lee quickly followed, and Sakura and the others followed suit. Shikamaru couldn't even help it.

"And right after you had finally won the respect you worked so hard for," he spoke.

"Is this…Heaven?" Naruto asked when he found himself and Kiba standing on clouds, everything bathed in light, making them appear golden. A winged being came to them and smiled, leading them to an open gate where beyond endless groves of fruit-bearing trees, pools of crystalline water, houses, and people stretched on.

"This is where all the righteous souls convene in the afterlife until Kami-Sama deems them ready for life again on Earth," the angel told them. "I see you two bear mate's marks." The boys looked over themselves, unable to find any kind of "mark." "Sillies, your ears and tails? They are signs that you not only came in touch with and accepted your second nature, but the way they mimic each other in age and shape signifies that you two died at the same time, something only true mates can achieve."

"I thought that Kami hated…gays," Naruto blurted. The angel shook his head.

"No, not if the love is true. You two did not reproduce, but you gave everything to each other, a truly godly act of self-sacrifice. Those who simply join for the sake of pleasurable union are animalistic and require further teaching. You two also care far more for each other than most humans. You are free to enjoy paradise until Kami calls you both back to Earth. You will eventually return, again at the same time, and only then will you remember you are mates, for once souls have joined as yours did, in holy acceptance and love, they should not be parted, as Kami taught us long ago. Your minds may find other loves in your future lives, but your souls will only know each other. You may also abandon your clothing as you see fit. In a place where there is no sin, there is no need for defense unless you hold each other in such honor. I know every case in the book. There are only two reasons for keeping clothing in a place like this if you so choose. The first one is an embarrassing scar, mark, or 'flaw' as you may see it, which I doubt. The only other reason would be that you believe only your mate deserves to see, deserves to **touch** your body. If this is so, then I say you value your mate highly."

"Ya, I do," Kiba told the grinning male as he took Naruto by the waist and the back of the head and kissed him lovingly. Naruto wrapped his arms around the back of Kiba's neck as he deepened the kiss. It was not long before they separated.

"If you value each other's security as highly as I think you do, there are various private regions depending on the mood you want. You may unite under the bright sun, in mid light, in darkness under God's stars, however you see fit. Your souls need rest and reassurance, so go forth and join. May Kami bless you with joy and passion," the angel ended before flying off.

Kiba somehow knew where to go, and he led Naruto a very long way until the sky began darkening. He stopped when he believed the light was perfect, and the clouds built four opaque walls around them. "I like it," Naruto told his mate as he kissed him. Kiba smiled as he accepted Naruto's tongue, lightly massaging it and inviting it to further explore him. "You taste just as sweet as I remember."

"You smell as wonderful as I remember," Kiba told him. He took hold of Naruto's jacket and began unzipping it, slowly to savor the moment under sunset light. The blond slowly removed his sweatshirt, giggling when he saw Kiba's ears spring back down. The brunette felt Naruto's abs through his shirt, and he felt so right to be laying on a bed of clouds worshipping the one he chose to love when no one else would. It felt wondrous to be in HEAVEN laying his mate bare so that he could join with said mate in the most beautiful of ways.

"I wonder if we'll ever see our friends again," Naruto mused. He seemed to be kinda down even though he smiled under Kiba's soft touches. His shirt was removed, and he giggled when his mate smiled at him.

"I'm sure we will," Kiba spoke. He began unzipping the blond's pants, neither of them horny yet surprisingly. The clothes fell away slowly, and the boys stared at each other: flaccid, happy, glowing, loving. "Will you make love with me Naruto?" the brunette asked. His blond nodded before bringing them together at the lips. Kiba reached up and felt the velvety ear of his blond, eliciting a tiny mew from Naruto. He moved his hand down to his mate's chest, just sliding his fingertips along the smooth, creamy skin. He lightly squeezed a nipple between two fingers, and Naruto broke from the kiss with a moan. "It's good to know you haven't lost your libido."

"I swear you love teasing me," Naruto gasped. His eyes began glazing, and Kiba decided to mark his mate, tearing moans of pleasure and light pain from the blond as his neck became bruised under his teeth and tongue. "Please Kiba," he pleaded, his member having risen to the occasion. "I know you love me, but right now Agh!" he gasped as Kiba grabbed his member.

"Naruto, we're in Heaven," the brunette spoke. "Your first time here should be gentle. Kami-Sama would smite me were I not to honor you. Now lay back." Naruto did as he asked, and Kiba positioned himself before claiming his mate's lips. He was a virgin again, but there was an aspect missing from this that the blond had been worrying about previously. Was there no wracking pain in the afterlife? Kiba hummed into the kiss as he felt himself pushing through very, VERY tight muscle. He felt like the pressure would crush him, but Naruto had no tears. There was no pain, good, because Kiba found no method of lubrication.

"Kiba," Naruto moaned as he lolled back, barely able to think or move due to his pleasure and unbelievable relaxation. Even though he WAS floating on clouds, he felt like he was "floating on air," detached from himself. Kiba began slowly rocking into him, and Naruto's legs subconsciously wrapped around his waist. Naruto moaned, barely seeing, but feeling unbelievably immense pleasure. He wanted to touch Kiba too, make him feel loved, but his body would not respond. "Mate…love…you," he whispered. Kiba knew this from one other time. Naruto was barely conscious. He decided that perhaps rougher love would awaken his fox's mind, get the rise he wanted. "Ah! Kiba!"

"Naruto," Kiba gasped, "kiss me. I want to know that you love me." Naruto cringed as he tried to get up.

"Why is it, so hard?" the blond asked before Kiba finally had him wrap his arms around his neck. He seemed exhausted, but at the same time, not exhaustion. Even his kiss was weaker. What in Hell was wrong? Kiba grabbed his dick, and Naruto craned his neck back swiftly. "I love you Kiba," the blond spoke. Kiba kissed him roughly, and a bit of the rise in his fox returned as he moaned loudly into the kiss. They finished simultaneously, and Naruto was reeling as his essence streaked over them and the clouds. The two fell softly on their sides, and Naruto's energy returned gradually. "You have no idea, how good that felt, but it was scary too." This statement confused Kiba. "The feelings kept my head from working, and then, I couldn't move or talk, just feel."

"Your love is very strong," spoke a female voice that the two did not recognize. They turned to find a bare angel hovering close to them, the walls no longer existent, nor their clothes! Kiba covered his mate's body, and at the same time, he looked away from the angel, not wanting his eyes to wander. "I see you wish to protect your mate's honor, as you should, but remember what Michael said? There is no sin here. You will not be tempted to stare and covet. I take no offense at seeing you two like this either. Your clothes are gone, and there is no need for them. Most pairs like you are simply happy to discard of them and rut for the first few days without cease. I am glad I met you, but do not forget, the Lord's Table is open to all. We are always feasting, sharing with he who created everything. When time permits, do come and enjoy a drink to replenish your tired souls. Your mate said he could not move due to the sensation, but the truth is, after death, souls lose much energy whether they travel here or the realm of punishment. Eat and renew, then sleep together until exhaustion leaves you. Beyond that is up to you and Kami." The woman began lightly flapping away.

"What is your name?" Naruto asked rather weakly.

"Angela," the woman with chestnut hair spoke before flying away. Kiba drew out, and Naruto found he still could not move, so the brunette carried him, somehow knowing where to find the hall in which Kami's table stretched for what seemed like miles.

"Ah, new arrivals," spoke a man still wearing a torn up robe. "Come, sit. Your friend seems to be pretty tired. Get some wine in him. It'll wake him up instantly."

"We're too young," Kiba replied, looking more at the roasted meats and ambrosia.

"What did I tell you earlier?" asked Michael from his seat humorously. "There is no sin here, no drunkenness. You may partake of the Lord's wine, an infinite amount without suffering from fogged minds or any other sort of impairment. Naruto looks to be almost asleep. Let him drink."

"How did you?" Kiba began before Michael brought him a glass of crimson liquid.

"I watch over all humanity," the archangel spoke. "I know the names of all." He brought the edge to Naruto's lips before allowing the liquid to enter his mouth. The blond swallowed, and seconds later, his eyes opened fully, bright and vibrant, and he moved on his own. Kiba put him on his feet, and Naruto took him into a heated and passionate kiss which sent Kiba soaring. This is what he had been wanting before. **This** was the fiery spirit of his mate which he knew. Naruto offered him what remained in the glass, and Kiba felt himself become charged with energy. "Kami's gift to you who joined in much holiness," the angel spoke before bowing. The two boys sat, ate, and drank with the archangel before going out into the dark fields of stars to rest. Naruto laid down first, and Kiba hugged him from behind, wrapping his legs around the front of Naruto's.

"I love you Naruto, for all eternity," the brunette promised as he lightly stroked his purring mate's cheek. The blond pushed into the touch happily. He felt so warm, so alive, so sleepy.

"Sleep with me…Kiba, until I am rested enough to join with you," he spoke. The two boys held onto each other softly as their eyes closed. They fell into a deep sleep, and they began keeping this cycle, lovemaking, eating, thanking, possibly more lovemaking, sleeping, and beginning again.

**Author Notes: Okay, this is the final version of this chapter. There will however be just one more to tie up the loose ends.**


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